The American joined a very select group when winning his fifth major – and third Wanamaker Trophy. We round up the final day’s action at Oak Hill
It’s difficult to keep up with all the action at Oak Hill – so we’ll keep you up to speed with what you may have missed in our daily PGA Championship Report.
What happened in the final round?
Brooks Koepka looked like a man on a mission. Determined to right the wrongs of his final round at The Masters only last month, he came charging out of the blocks at Oak Hill – with birdies at three of the first four holes.
A one-shot lead stretched to three and Viktor Hovland was hanging on for dear life. But then came the stumble. A wayward drive found the penalty area on six and a sloppy approach on the 7th led to consecutive bogeys and the Norwegian was handed a reprieve.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler made a late charge and Hovland fought hard to stay within a shot. But with the trophy on the line down the stretch, Koepka found another gear. It was the stuff of champions.
He birdied the 12th, 14th and 16th, before Hovland faltered fatally in a fairway bunker on the 16th. Scheffler birdied the last to climb into a tie for second, but Koepka hit an arrowing iron into that closing hole to set the seal on an epic victory.
Winning his fifth major championship, and his third PGA, only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have managed to claim the Wanamaker Trophy on three or more occasions since the tournament became a stroke play event in 1958.
It was a truly historic victory for a player who not long ago feared his career may be in jeopardy because of injury. Now dominant Brooks is back, and who knows how many more majors he might win?
Shot of the day
Only one contender. Only one result. Michael Block had captivated us all week with his phenomenal play and the club professional from Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, in Mission Viejo, California, rubber-stamped that love with an incredible ace on the par-3 15th.
You can read all about it, and his unbelievable performance in the final round, right here.
Key moment
Lightning does strike twice. Barely 24 hours after Corey Conners had done it, Viktor Hovland managed to embed his second shot from the bunker at the 16th hole into almost the very same spot in the lip.
He was able to get relief, of course, but the double-bogey that resulted left his major dreams once more in tatters as Koepka’s birdie put the hammer down. Will the nearly man be able to get it done at Royal Liverpool?
Will Zach be tuning in?
American Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson was predictably barraged with LIV questions in a pre-fourth round interview as Koepka, one of the stars of the controversial Saudi-backed venture, led the field.
There were some interesting little snippets. He said he couldn’t answer whether he’d feel comfortable having a LIV player on the team, and wasn’t sure if he’d spoken to Brooks and Dustin Johnson specifically about the Ryder Cup.
But the most surreal was when he was asked whether he watched the LIV broadcasts on CW or YouTube?
“CW?” he replied. “That’s where it’s on television,” said the reporter. “I didn’t know that,” added Johnson. “I do get to see it. I have to ask my kids. I think I get the CW.”
After Koepka’s heroics, perhaps the US skipper will now have the remote control on a new channel over the coming months.
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