BROOKS KOEPKA HELD off the challenge of Viktor Hovland and the late rally of Scottie Scheffler to close out the US PGA Championship at Oak Hill, winning the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time and bringing his total major haul to five.
The victory completes Koepka’s comeback from a serious knee injury and a subsequent loss of confidence – as he candidly revealed on the Netflix series Full Swing - and marks a significant win for the LIV Tour, which Koepka joined last year.
Koepka was in the final group with Jon Rahm at this year’s Masters but did not perform at Augusta, shooting a dispiriting 73 to fade from contention.
He said he was determined not to make the same mistake at Oak Hill and so it proved, shooting a steely closing 67 to win by two shots ahead of Hovland and Scheffler.
For Hovland it proved to be more final-day disappointment at a major: he contended at the Open Championship last year and at this year’s Masters before sinking without a trace on their respective Sundays. Hovland hung tough with Koepka today, however, without ever managing to overhaul him.
Koepka made a flying start, birdieing holes two, three, and four to build a two-shot lead over Hovland as they stepped away from the fifth hole. A wayward drive off the fearsome sixth meant a bogey and a halving of his advantage, and another bogey at seven was mitigated against by a dropped shot from Hovland.
Koepka’s lead swayed between one and two as Hovland battled admirably, and the duel continued to the 16th hole, at which point Hovland’s challenge finally foundered, when a fairway bunker shot went horribly awry.
Hovland took double-bogey, and Koepka walked off with a four-shot lead that was narrowed but could not be overhauled.
Scottie Scheffler catapulted himself into contention with a five-under 65, righting many of the wrongs of yesterday’s uninspiring 73, albeit without doing enough to trouble Koepka.
World number one Rahm, commentating for CBS following a closing 71 which left him seven over par, had been full of praise for Koepka after his blistering start.
“He is a player that, when he gets in contention, is like a shark in the water,” Rahm said.
“He smells blood, especially on these types of courses. It suits his mentality of being even keel, plodding along and taking opportunities when they come.
“He came out aggressive and I don’t think people realise how dangerous some of these hole locations are. To be that precise (on the second) to give yourself three feet straight up the hill is incredible.”
Open champion Cameron Smith recorded the joint lowest round of the week to date with a closing 65 and insisted no one should be surprised that he and fellow LIV players like Koepka were able to compete at the highest level.
“I gave up on that narrative about six months ago,” Smith said with a smile. “I think there’s been a few guys that have been trying to kick it along a little bit.
“We’re still out there. We haven’t forgot how to play golf. We’re all great golfers out there, and we know what we can do, and I think that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Rory McIlroy finished a maddeningly inconsistent day with a one-under 69, finishing in a tie for seventh place, seven shots behind Koepka without ever truly contending. McIlroy opened with a birdie on one but instantly gave the shot back on two, which set the tone for his closing round: he mixed birdies with too many bogeys. Six, nine, 10 and 13 yielded birdies, but four, seven and 15 delivered bogeys, the latter coming having missed right in precisely the same way in which he missed on Saturday.
“My game got a little better as each day went on. I feel sort of close and so far away at the same time”, said McIlroy after his round. “It’s a weird feeling. I was able to scratch out a decent performance. But I need to be better in these major championships. I need to keep the black numbers off my card. The good stuff is in there, the bad stuff needs to be eradicated, so I need to work a little harder on it.”
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry signed for a one-under 69, a round beguiled with an eagle at 14, finishing in a tie for 13th place.
Padraig Harrington finished in a tie for 50th place, also signing for a one-under round of 69. He finished at seven-over for the tournament, an admirable finish that would have been an awful lot better without a horror opening nine on Saturday, when he went out in an eight-over 43.
One of the stories of the week proved to be 47-year-old club pro Michael Block, who played alongside McIlroy on Sunday and shot a one-over 71 for his round.
UNBELIEVABLE!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 21, 2023
MICHAEL BLOCK JUST DUNKED A HOLE-IN-ONE! pic.twitter.com/Qin8FYXFQV
Block teaches lessons at $125 a pop but today made $288,000 in prize money along with priceless memories with the moment of the tournament on the par-three 15th hole, when he slam-dunked a hole-in-one. His top-15 finish also guarantees him qualification for next year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Reflecting on his astonishing hole-in-one on 15, Block said he didn’t realise the ball dropped right into the hole.
“I said, you have to be kidding me. I had zero clue. But I was wondering, ‘Why is Rory hugging me? Rory wouldn’t be hugging me if I got it close.’
“I am going to go home the happiest guy in the world.”
Written by Gavin Cooney and posted on the42.ie
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