USPGA champion Justin Thomas praised by Tiger Woods after stirring memories of Paul Lawrie's major win at Carnoustie

Justin Thomas earned praise from Tiger Woods after pulling off the largest 54-hole comeback in a major since Paul Lawrie in 1999 to land a second PGA Tour Championship in six years.

Justin Thomas shows off the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the PGA Championship for a second time at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

The 29-year-old overturned a seven-shot deficit heading into the final round at Southern Hills in Tulsa to get his hands on the Wanamaker Trophy again after landing his breakthrough major win in the PGA of America event in 2017.

Lawrie came from 10 shots back to land a hugely-popular home success in The Open at Carnoustie, but it was an equally-impressive effort from Thomas as he also eventually prevailed in a play-off in Oklahoma.

Congratulating him on social media, Woods wrote: “He kept himself in this championship until the very end and once he got his shot he didn’t look back.”

It didn’t look promising for Thomas when he found himself eight shots behind Chile’s Mito Pereira at one point in the final round before the season’s second major was eventually decided in a gripping finale.

Thomas played his final ten holes in four-under to sign off with a 67 to post the clubhouse target on five-under, which was matched by fellow American Will Zalatoris after he holed clutch putts on the final two holes.

Pereira, who was playing in just his second major, led by one standing on the last tee and that advantage would have been two shots if a birdie attempt at the 17th hadn’t hung in the jaws of the hole.

But, like Frenchman Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie, the 27-year-old dug his own grave by finding water up the 18th and, like Lawrie, Thomas took full advantage with an impressive play-off performance.

His success came 15 years after Woods had landed the same prize on the same course, making it even sweeter for Thomas due to his close friendship with the 15-time major winner.

“Yes, I think now I only have like 150 other things to do that he's done to where he can stop giving me grief. So I guess it's just a stepping stone,” said Thomas, laughing.

It was somewhat ironic, of course, that the Kentucky man had Jim “Bones” Mackay on his bag given that his old boss, Phil Mickelson, had decided not to defend the title he’d won at the age of 50 last year.

After his lengthy spell with Mickelson ended, Mackay had a spell working as an on-course reporter before linking up with Thomas towards the end of last year and, as Thomas was quick to admit, Mackay played a pivotal role as he became just the sixth player since the Second World War to rack up 15 PGA Tour wins including two majors before the age of 30.

“I'm fully confident in saying that I wouldn't be standing here if he didn't give me that,” he said of a pep talk from Mackay after third-round 74 had dented his title hopes.

“I felt like I'd played terrible and he was just like, ‘dude, you've got to stop being so hard on yourself. You're in contention every single week, so just keep staying positive so that good stuff can happen’.

“I left here in an awesome frame of mind. It was so peaceful. It was almost kind of eerie how beautiful it was outside.”