The PGA Championship action is set to get underway after the annual dinner of former winners was held in the build-up
11:18, 14 May 2026Updated 11:19, 14 May 2026
Justin Thomas poked fun at a LIV Golf ace during the 2023 PGA Champions dinner(Image: Getty)
The 2026 PGA Champions dinner was held ahead of the PGA Championship. It was at the traditional meal in 2023 that Justin Thomas aimed a cheeky jibe at former LIV Golf star Mito Pereira during a speech.
Scottie Scheffler took to the stage at the annual PGA Champions dinner on Tuesday evening, having won the USPGA at Quail Hollow in 2025, and didn’t disappoint with a speech that earned admiration from his peers.
The dinner, held at Aronimink Golf Club, featured a menu crafted by Aronimink’s executive chef John Ferguson and was attended by a host of past champions including Thomas, who has tasted PGA Championship victory twice, in 2017 and 2022.
It was after his most recent win, however, that Thomas was tasked with entertaining the crowd at the Oak Hill Champions dinner in 2023, and his speech began with a comical jibe at Pereira, who retired from golf in 2025.
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At the 2022 PGA Championship, Thomas entered the final round seven strokes behind leader Pereira and mustered a staggering 67. But with Pereira standing over the 18th tee with a one-shot lead, it seemed as though he’d miss out on a second USPGA crown.
However, the Chilean found the water, having needed only a par to win the major title. He double bogeyed, leaving Thomas in a share of the lead with Will Zalatoris on five under.
Pereira missed out on a play-off under cruel circumstances(Image: Getty)
Thomas then birdied two of the three play-off holes at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to beat Zalatoris and win the USPGA.
A year later, he headed to Oak Hill as the reigning champion and was front and centre at the Champions dinner as per tradition. He alluded to Pereira’s failure on 18 during his address, which was captured on Netflix’s Full Swing.
“It is a very cool night, I know we can all reminisce about stories,” Thomas began before raising a glass. “I personally want to have a cheers to Mito Pereira because this would not happen without him.”
This joke earned Thomas a laugh from the room, but not from Pereira. He admitted soon after to Barstool Sports that the joke hurt his feelings.
Thomas won the Wanamaker Trophy in 2022(Image: Getty)
Pereira said: “It was not very fun for me or I think for anybody. I’ve seen Instagram and he’s not getting a lot of love about that. I’m not really close to him so it’s not like I’m going to go talk to him.
“It hurt a little bit, just not really to go at him and say something. It gives you a little bit of fire. If that happens again, I’d really like to be in that position to beat him.”
It was in 2022 that Thomas last won a major, as he tees off at Aronimink in topsy-turvy form. He missed the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this year and his last top-10 was at the Players.
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