Global Courant 2023-05-22 03:59:26
All those injuries that left Brooks Koepka wondering if he still belonged to the golfing elite were put to rest Sunday at Oak Hill in Pittsford, NY, as he beat the strongest field of the year to win the PGA Championship for his fifth major title.
Determined as ever to restore his reputation as the player to beat in the majors, Koepka made three quick birdies early on, never lost the lead amid a spirited fight from Viktor Hovland and finished with a 3-under 67 for a win with two shots.
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., came into play on Sunday with a shot behind the leader, but had a rough day, shooting 5-over to finish tied for 12th on even par.
Koepka won his third Wanamaker Trophy – only Jack Nicklaus and Walter Hagen with five and Tiger Woods with four have won the PGA Championship more often – and captured his first major in four years.
LOOK | Koepka wins 5th major title:
LIV golfer Brooks Koepka wins PGA Championship for 5th major title
United States’ Brooks Koepka shoots 3-under 67 in the final round to earn his third PGA Championship win.
And to think that the 18 months Koepka was so injured he felt he couldn’t compete, a decision that could have led him to leave the PGA Tour after the US Open last June and head to Saudi Arabia. funded LIV Golf went.
On the Netflix series “Full Swing,” which aired earlier this year, he said his confidence had given way to doubt. “I’ll be honest with you, I can’t compete with these guys week in, week out.”
Give him good health and a clear head, and good luck beating Koepka in the majors.
He has now won five of his last 22 majors, a percentage surpassed only by Woods, Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo and Ben Hogan in the last 75 years.
Koepka is in pretty rambunctious company pretty much everywhere he looks. His five majors are as many as Seve Ballesteros and Byron Nelson. Of the active players, only Woods (15) and Phil Mickelson (6) have more.
“I’m not even sure I dreamed of it as a kid, winning that many,” he said.
Looking powerful as ever, Koepka left little doubt about his place in the game with his two-shot victory over unlucky Hovland (68) and Scottie Scheffler, who finished with 65 to return to world number 1 .
“When I look back to where we were two years ago, I’m so happy now,” Koepka said. “This is just the coolest thing.”
The win moves Koepka to No. 13 in the world and No. 2 in the Ryder Cup standings. The top six automatically qualify and it would be hard to fathom leaving Koepka off the US team. He can only score early runs in the majors, with two more to come.
Block caps special tournament with ace
Koepka had to share the loudest cheer with Californian club pro Michael Block, who put on a great show over four days. Block made a hole-in-one on the 15th hole while playing with Rory McIlroy, then made two heavy par putts at the end for a fourth straight 70.
He finished tied for 15th, earning him a return date for the PGA Championship next year in Valhalla. It was the best finish by a club pro since Lonnie Nielsen achieved an 11th-place finish at Inverness in 1986.
LOOK | Block delivers ace on 15th hole:
Club pro Michael Block wins 15th hole in PGA Championship final round
Michael Block, a club pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California, hits a hole-in-one on the 15th hole during the fourth round of the PGA Championship.
“The most surreal moment I’ve ever had in my life,” said Block. “I’m living a dream and making sure I enjoy the moment. It doesn’t get any better than this – absolutely not.”
Block charges $125 US per class at Arroyo Trabuco in Mission Viejo, California. He made just under $290,000 at Oak Hill.
Winding road for Koepka back to main title
For Koepka, his fifth major was perhaps the most beautiful of them all, given the criticism of his pedestrian play due to injuries and his decision to join LIV Golf, where he has won two of the 54-hole events.
A month ago at the Masters, Koepka lost a two-shot lead in the final round playing hesitantly and was caught off guard by Jon Rahm. He swore he wouldn’t do that again, and Koepka performed in a great way, just like he used to.
Hovland made it easy for him in the end. Koepka was one shot ahead on the 16th hole when Hovland hit his 9-iron from a bunker that tucked into the lip in front of him – the same shot Conners put in on Saturday – making double bogey.
Koepka fired a shot from the rough to 5 yards for a birdie and suddenly found himself leading by four shots when Hovland made a double bogey.
Scheffler started four shots behind and never got closer than two. His 65 matched the best score of the tournament, posted by four other players on a day set up to score.
Koepka took advantage of that by cramming a wedge to four feet on the second and third holes and rolling an eight-foot birdie down the hill on the par-5 fourth.
But he drove into the water on the sixth hole and did a good job making bogey, and another bogey from the rough on the seventh cut his lead to Hovland to one shot.
Hovland again drew within one shot with a 3-yard birdie on the 13th. Koepka answered with a driver he hit over the steep bunkers and onto the rim at the reachable 14th, and after they made pars on the par-3 15th.
Hovland hit the 9 iron from the bunker on the 16th and heard the terrible thud of it shoot into the turf at the edge of the sand. He immediately knew what was happening, covered his mouth with a closed fist. After a fall in nasty rough, it took two more runs to get to the green.
“Brooks is a great player, and now he’s got five majors. I mean, that’s a great record right there. It’s not easy coming face to face with a guy like that,” Hovland said. “He won’t give you anything, and I didn’t really feel like I gave him anything until I was 16.”
Bryson DeChambeau, who started the PGA with a 66, made too many mistakes in his round of 70. He stuck around to join hands with Koepka, two LIV Golf players who used to get under each other’s skin.
LIV had three players in the top 10 for its second major in a row.
Koepka, who finished 9-under 271, received $3.15 million and the heaviest trophy of the four majors. Nothing felt more valuable than that.
