A Sunday of historic comebacks for Justin Thomas, Manchester City, plus Warriors push Mavs to the brink

Happy Monday, everyone. Hope you enjoyed the weekend!

Let’s get right to it.

Good morning to everyone but especially to…

JUSTIN THOMAS…

Justin Thomas now has two Wanamaker Trophies to his name, and this one came in historic, dramatic fashion. The 29-year-old American trailed by seven shots entering yesterday’s final round, but through his own rock-solid play and shaky play by those in front of him, he erased that deficit and then topped Will Zalatoris in the three-hole playoff.

• It ties the largest final-round comeback in PGA Championship history. John Mahaffey also came from seven back in 1978.
• Thomas fired a three-under 67 on Sunday to get to five-under for the week. Then came a long wait for the rest of the field to finish.
• Zalatoris made a clutch par putt on the 72nd hole to join Thomas as co-leaders in the clubhouse at five-under.
• Mito Pereira, the 54-hole leader at nine-under, led by one entering the 72nd hole but hit an ugly drive into the water and eventually made double bogey to miss the playoff by a shot.

Thomas then came out on fire in the playoff, knocking a wedge to a few feet on the first extra hole, the par-5 13th, to match birdies with Zalatoris. On the second playoff hole, the par-4 17th, he drove the green and made another birdie to take a one-stroke lead to become the first player to birdie each of the first two playoff holes at the PGA Championship since the event moved to stroke play in 1958. Thomas finished with a straightforward par on the par-4 18th for the win.

The comeback was rare. So, too, was the emotion Thomas showed after he finally won, notes golf reporter Kyle Porter

• Porter: “‘I just think it’s just so hard to win,’ Thomas said when asked about the emotion afterward. ‘Like, it is. I legitimately think it’s harder to win now than it was when I first came out on Tour. … I think it’s easy to start letting some doubt creep in and just kind of [think], like, ‘All right, what’s going to happen? When is it going to happen? Is it going to happen?'”

Yesterday, “it” happened, in a comeback for the ages.

… AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

The Warriors are one win away from yet another NBA Finals appearance, and they’re getting contributions from up and down the roster. Golden State beat Dallas, 109-100, to take a 3-0 series lead last night.

• Stephen Curry had 31 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to lead the way.
• Andrew Wiggins was outstanding with 27 points (including a huge dunk on Luka Doncic) and 11 rebounds as well as strong defense on Doncic (who still finished with 40 points).
• The Warriors won the rebounding battle, 47-33, and the points in the paint battle 46-34.
• Teams with a 3-0 series lead have a 146-0 series record all-time.

The Warriors are far from perfect, but they are tough to beat because they capitalize on your mistakes. Miss a boxout? There’s Wiggins or Draymond Green or Kevon Looney making you pay. Fall asleep on defense? Golden State has terrific passers, shooters and cutters. The Mavericks have been able to overcome their shortcomings this postseason with 3-point shooting, but with those shots not falling, the Warriors took full advantage once again.

Honorable mentions

Not so honorable mentions

NHL Playoffs: Lightning up 3-0; Rangers, Oilers pick up key wins ?

In the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the two-time reigning champion Lightning survived two elimination games, both by one goal. It’s safe to say that they’re making it easier on themselves in the second round so far. The Lightning dominated the Panthers, 5-1, on Sunday to take a 3-0 series lead.

• Corey Perry gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead early, but Sam Reinhart tied things up on the power play late in the first period.
• Tampa Bay took control in the second, with Eric Cernak and Steven Stamkos finding the back of the net. Nikita Kucherov and Stamkos both scored in the third period.
• Teams with a 3-0 series lead hold a series record of 197-4.

Meanwhile, the Rangers did what the Panthers could not and avoided a 3-0 series hole by topping the Hurricanes, 3-1.

• Mika Zibanejad scored on the power play in the first period.
• Chris Kreider made it 2-0 early in the second period, but Nino Niederreiter cut the deficit in half shortly thereafter.
• Tyler Motte scored an empty-netter as New York hung on.
• Igor Shesterkin made 43 saves for the Rangers.

Finally, the Oilers used a dominant second period to beat the Flames 4-1.

• Zach Hyman opened the scoring less than a minute into the second period.
• Evander Kane then recorded a second-period hat-trick, his second hat-trick of this postseason.
• Leon Draisaitl assisted on all four goals.

Tiger Woods withdraws from PGA Championship ?

After shooting a 79 in the third round — his worst ever at a PGA Championship — Tiger Woods withdrew from the event, citing soreness. Woods battled hard just to make the cut, shooting 74-69 on the first two days to make it to the weekend by a stroke. But it was clear he was far from fully healthy, and Saturday’s round was a reflection of that.

Woods entered this event saying he had gotten “a lot stronger” since the Masters, where he finished 47th, but this week showed he still has a ways to go. Next, we’ll see when Woods announces his plans for the U.S. Open less than a month away or The Open in July.

Manchester City wins Premier League in thrilling fashion; AC Milan takes Serie A âš½

There is nothing — simply nothing — that compares to the final day of the Premier League. Yesterday reminded us of that once again.

We’ll start at the top: Manchester City entered Sunday one point ahead of Liverpool, but through 75 minutes, City was down 2-0 against middling Aston Villa. Then, the magic happened:

• In the 76th minute, substitute Ilkay Gündogan nodded in a Raheem Sterling cross to halve the deficit.
• Two minutes later, Rodri calmly placed a shot into the bottom corner, knotting things at two.
• Three minutes later it was Gündogan again, tapping in Kevin de Bruyne‘s cross to complete the comeback.

Liverpool pulled off their own impressive comeback, beating Wolverhampton 3-1, but it was for naught. City is the Premier League champion for the fourth time in five seasons.

Of course, that wasn’t the only race with huge implications. Tottenham earned a Champions League berth with a 5-0 win over hapless Norwich, and that berth is well-deserved, writes soccer expert James Benge.

• Benge: “Their final day victory concludes what has been an impressive late season run to secure the top-four berth that would have slipped out of their hands if they had lost the north London derby 10 days ago. Instead Harry Kane and Heung-min Son inspired them to a 3-0 win over Arsenal which they followed by beating Burnley, assuring themselves of local bragging rights for the sixth straight year.”

At the bottom, Leeds United, led by American manager Jesse Marsch got a dramatic late goal from Jack Harrison to beat Brentford 2-1 and avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth. That means fellow American Brenden Aaronson, transferring in from RB Salzburg, will get to play in the Premier League next season as well. Burnley, Watford and Norwich are relegated.

Unlike Manchester City, AC Milan won their league without much final-day drama, beating Sassuolo 3-0. Olivier Giroud scored twice and Franck Kessié once to give Milan their first Serie A crown since 2011. It’s a remarkable season for them and, as soccer reporter Francesco Porzio notes, a remarkable turnaround for manager Stefano Pioli.

• Porzio: “On Sunday he finally achieved his first Scudetto, the crowning achievement of his career until now. The same man who was unwanted by the fans has become their idol. Now Pioli is ‘on fire’ and has no intention of stopping. And tomorrow, it’s back to work.”

What we’re watching Monday ?