Sunday at Oak Hill, according to Brooks Koepka, wouldn’t be a repeat of Sunday at Augusta National.
Koepka kept his word, finishing at 9 under par to win the PGA Championship, two strokes ahead of Viktor Hovland (68) and Scottie Scheffler (65).
When Hovland’s tee shot went into a fairway bunker on the right at the 16th par-4, Koepka and Hovland, who were playing together in the final pairing, were separated by one stroke. In the same location the day before, the leader Corey Conners drilled his approach onto the bunker’s turf face. He had to take an unplayable lie, making a double bogey and permanently surrendering the lead.
Surprisingly, Hovland repeated the mistake on Sunday, ruining his chances of winning his first major championship.
As for Koepka, he made a birdie on the 16th to extend his lead to four with two holes remaining. At the 17th hole, he made a harmless bogey, and at the 18th hole, he made a par.
Kopeka won his third Wanamaker Trophy (2018, 2019) and sixth major title with this achievement. He shares the 15th spot on the list of all-time major victories with James Braid, John Henry Taylor, Byron Nelson, Peter Thomson, and Seve Ballesteros.
“Yes, given all the effort that went into it and how wonderful it is, this one is perhaps the sweetest of them all. I believe that this is it for me.” Koepka, who has struggled with a variety of health difficulties and spoken out about experiencing times of self-doubt over the past few years, said.
It was his first PGA Tour victory since February 2021 and the eighth of his career.
A year later, in the same month, Koepka declared his commitment to stay on the PGA Tour, predicting that the new Saudi-led rival league will get their guys. “Someone will go there and sell out.”
Koepka was among them four months later.
In October, Koepka won the first of his two LIV championships. The second came the week before the Masters Tournament in April.
Koepka finished T-2 behind Jon Rahm in the season’s opening major despite having a two-shot lead going into the final round (after finishing a delayed Round 3 early on Sunday).
On this particular Saturday, Koepka felt convinced that the outcome of the competition would be different despite being reticent to explain why he had the lead after 54 holes of a major.
Or in a manner comparable to that of Bethpage Black and Bellerive.
The 105th PGA tournament started more than 45 minutes after the last group of players in the final round hit the tee.
Koepka led by three strokes after making birdies on three of his first four holes.
He hit his irons with pinpoint accuracy and placed his tee shots with absolute precision. But he made another at the seventh after a sliced drive off the sixth tee resulted in a bogey. He was one better than Hovland at 7 under par by the halfway point, and Scheffler was at 4 under par.
Scheffler reached 7 under par for the championship, but he never went beyond two strokes of that mark.
In the end, Koepka continuously maintained his lead in the race between the two remaining competitors.
As Hovland put together a set of pars to begin the inside half, he went from birdie to bogey to birdie. The Norwegian might have evened the score after birdieing the 13th par-5, but Koepka made a smooth, downward, 10-footer for par to maintain his lead.
At the 320-yard, driveable 14th par-4, both players made birdies. They also tied at 15.
The 16th hole was next, and Hovland shaved a 9-iron onto the bottom of the bunker lip there. Hovland took a penalty shot and a drop after his ball embedded. His double bogey and Koepka’s birdie put an end to the entire situation.
But on Sunday night, there were cheers in Oak Hill as well. Alongside Rory McIlroy, club pro Michael Block had a straightforward hole-in-one at the 15th par-3 before pulling off a remarkable par save from far left of the 18th green. He tied for 15th after shooting a final-round 1-over 71, which qualified him for Valhalla’s field the following year.
“This is the most bizarre experience I’ve ever had. I’m making sure I’m having fun while living a dream. There is no finer place to be than this.” Block said.
McIlroy won his second Wanamaker Trophy and his fourth and most recent major at the penultimate PGA tournament held at the Louisville, Kentucky, course. This past Sunday, the Northern Irishman fired up the fans in western New York by putting his approach shot at the first hole to a foot. He made a birdie to pull to within four of the lead, but he misplayed his second shot from the fairway after short-siding himself. McIlroy tied for seventh place with a 1-under 69.
“In a way, I feel both close and far away at the same moment. To explain is challenging.” Mcilroy said.
Koepka will travel to Los Angeles Country Club in June with the goal of winning his third U.S. Open while his major drought will continue there. He’ll probably be the favorite given his performances in the season’s first two majors.
