Tiger in the mix as young American wins third Major
American Brooks Koepka played divine golf at Bellerive Country Club, St Louis, Missouri on Sunday to seize the 100th PGA Championship, his third Major title in just over a year, shooting a Major championship-equalling record of 264, 16-under par, with rounds of 69, 63, 66 and 66. The 28-year old from Florida fought off a brilliant challenge from Tiger Woods who finished in second place, two shots behind.
It wouldn’t surprise me if a great deal of the golf headlines this week focus on Tiger’s miraculous, near-victory in the PGA Championship (9-12 August) almost as much as Koepka’s brilliantly executed triumph. Agreed, Tiger did miss winning his 15th Major title by a whisker at Bellerive, but let’s forget about Tiger for a moment (or at least until our next post) and simply concentrate on Brooks Koepka and his magnificent achievement.
On day three of the PGA, it was the player from West Palm Beach, Florida who rose to the top of the leaderboard after carding a classy 66 to take the outright lead on 12-under. Koepka was in the driving seat at the par-70 Bellerive Country Club. Australian Adam Scott was his passenger, two shots adrift.
America’s new golfing star
Koepka not only plays a great game, but also has the looks, the style and a wonderful calm aura about him. At the weekend, he showed once again that he has focus and nerves of steel too. It’s a total focus which, as he admits himself, he somehow manages to create in Majors yet seldom in regular tournaments. Hence, his professional profile shows just four victories in America, three of which are Majors! On the European Tour, he also won the Turkish Airlines Open in 2014 after four previous wins on the Challenge Tour. Koepka has also struck gold in Japan with back-to-back victories in the Dunlop Phoenix in 2016 and 2017.
Koepka played awesome golf in St Louis to lift the prestigious Wanamaker Trophy, his third Major title. Having won the US Open in 2017, he then successfully defended his title at Shinnecock Hills in June. Without doubt, Brooks Koepka is America’s newest golfing star.
With no less than six birdies in his final round of 66, Koepka’s only shaky moment came at the 4th and 5th where he made back-to-back bogeys. After that, he just sailed away in top gear making three consecutive birdies at 7, 8 and 9. More birdie chances followed at 12, 13 and 14, but it wasn’t until the 15th and 16th that the birdie putts finally dropped again.
Defending Champion, Justin Thomas played a great tournament finishing in a worthy share of sixth place on 10-under par along with fellow American Gary Woodland, who had taken Bellerive by storm the first two days, Open Champion Francesco Molinari (Italy) and Belgian Thomas Pieters. After birdies at 12 and 13, Adam Scott closed the gap with Koepka to become co-leader on 14-under, but a missed putt on the 17th and a costly bogey down the last saw him slip down to third spot (-13), one behind Tiger Woods in second place.
Koepka makes golfing history
Scott and Woods challenged until the bitter end, but Koepka’s cool ring of confidence was not to be broken. Even after he smashed a drive of 310-metres down the 17th only to see his birdie putt from close by the hole stay above ground, he remained calm. A cracking drive down the last and a solid approach-shot left Koepka with a good chance of birdie, but a straight par was enough to seal his victory in the 100th PGA Championship with a tally of 264 (16-under par), two strokes ahead of Tiger.
Koepka can be justly proud of winning his third Major, just eight weeks after retaining his US Open title, but also of his score. No player in Major history has ever shot a lower 72-hole score than 16-under par. For the record, only four other players have won the US Open and the PGA Championship in the same year: Gene Sarazen (1922), Ben Hogan (1948), Jack Nicklaus (1980) and Tiger Woods (2000). Brooks Koepka can now add his name to this illustrious list. Another eye-opener is the size of the PGA Championship winner’s prize-cheque. Koepka collected a cool 1,710,125 euros for his victory in St Louis.
Many, many congratulations to you Brooks Koepka – 2018 PGA Champion and reigning US Open Champion. Brilliant!
Wendy Hoad
CHECK OUT THE FINAL PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SCOREBOARD HERE
PICTURED: The newly-crowned PGA Champion, Brooks Koepka.