“It was death in a thousand pieces for Mito Pereira; It’s among the most brutal scenes I’ve seen on a golf course’: reactions to Chilean’s debacle on final hole of PGA Championship

Guillermo Pereira was about to make history. Mito reached the final hole of the PGA Championship, the second major of the season, with the possibility of winning it and closing a dream week mixed with the best golfers in the world. However, that failed. A double boogey on the last hole, produced by a ball he threw in the water, cut short the dream. “It was quiet. It’s not a good swing. I wasn’t thinking of water. When I threw it in the water, I was surprised. There are sensations in the body that you think you don’t feel at the moment. You do not realize “, he explained after the outcome of the tournament.

However, the Chilean enjoyed what he achieved. “It’s difficult. I had a great week. I didn’t play very well today. I had to do a few extra clubs to win. But the week I had… Monday I wanted to make the cut and Sunday I wanted to try to win. I will take it as learning for the future “, he said, in an attempt to console himself after having missed a historic opportunity.

The latest reaction is very similar to that of the golf world. If, on the one hand, the closing of the Chilean tournament created the surprise, no one dared to criticize it strongly. Rather, what remained was the evaluation of the performance he had achieved during the week, which had allowed him to reach the decisive day in position to win the contest.

“There are times when the loser is remembered more than the winner. . Justin Thomas wins the PGA Championship, but the tournament will be remembered because the Chilean Mito Pereira lost it”, summarizes, by way of example, the Spanish newspaper El País. “The Chilean fails when he has no needed only par on the 18th hole to be champion and the American beat Zalatoris in the tiebreaker,” he said.

Mito hasn’t just racked up the comments for his participation or for his closing on the pitch. He was also praised for his attitude after the traumatic end of the competition, when he took the time to face the media and tried to explain what happened to him on the final hole. “Class act”, reports for example the publication Golf Digest, collecting a tweet from Dan Rapaport, a journalist specializing in this sport. “I just came back from the green of the 18th. It was death in a thousand pieces for Mito Pereira. This is one of the most brutal scenes I’ve seen on a golf course. “began the journalist, recalling, then underlining the courage of the Chilean. “And then he lifted his head, hugged his wife and said yes to all interview requests. Many would have run to the locker room “, he underlined.

Others focused on the millionaire’s loot he let slip. Although the third place earned him an expensive check, which reached 728 million dollars, it is also concrete that a victory had allowed him even greater profits. “Mito Pereira would have won $2.7 million if he had hit a pair on the 18th. His double boogey earned him a tie with Cam Young and a check for $870,000. Loss: $1.83 million,” summarizes journalist Darren Rovell.