LIV’s Brooks Koepka wins the PGA Championship for his fifth major title

All those injuries that had Brooks Koepka wondering if he was still among golf’s elite ended Sunday at Oak Hill in Pittsford, New York, when he beat the strongest course 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 hit three quick birdies early, never lost the lead amid a tough fight from Viktor Hovland, and finished with a three-under-par 67 for a 2-0 win. two hits.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ontario, entered Sunday’s action one stroke behind the leader, but had a tough day and shot five times to finish tied for even 12th place.

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 times—and captured his first Major in four years.

CLOCK | Koepka wins fifth major title:

LIV golfer Brooks Koepka wins the PGA Championship for his fifth major title

Brooks Koepka of the United States shoots a three-under-par 67 in the final round and captures his third PGA Championship victory.

And to think that 18-month-old Koepka was so hurt that he felt he couldn’t compete, a decision that could have led him to leave the PGA Tour for Saudi-funded LIV Golf in a shocking move last June after the US Open.

In the Netflix series “Full Swing” which began airing earlier this year, he was quoted as saying his confidence had given way to doubt. “I’m going to be honest with you, I can’t compete with these guys week after week.”

Give him good health and a clear mind, and good luck taking down Koepka in the majors.

Koepka is in pretty heady company almost everywhere he looks. His five majors are as many as Seve Ballesteros and Byron Nelson. Among active players, only Woods (15) and Phil Mickelson (6) have more.

“I’m not even sure I dreamed of that when I was a kid, that I would win so many,” he said.

Koepka looked as powerful as ever and left little doubt about his place in the game with his two-shot win over the ill-fated Hovland (68) and Scottie Scheffler, who closed with a 65 and returned to world No. 1.

“To look back at where we were two years ago, I’m very happy right now,” Koepka said. “This is the coolest.”

The win moves Koepka to world No. 13 and No. 2 in the Ryder Cup standings. The top six qualify automatically, and it would be hard to imagine leaving Koepka out of the US team. He can only get early points in the majors, and there are still two more to come.

Ace Block Tops Special Tournament

Koepka had to share the loudest applause with California club pro Michael Block, who put on an incredible show over four days. Block hit a hole-in-one on the 15th hole while playing Rory McIlroy, then made hard two-putts for par late on for a straight 70th quarter.

He tied for 15th, giving him a return date to the PGA Championship the next year in Valhalla. It was the best finish by a club professional since Lonnie Nielsen’s equalizer for 11 in 1986 at Inverness.

CLOCK | Block pulls an ace on the 15th hole:

Club pro Michael Block wins the 15th hole in the final round of the PGA Championship

Michael Block, a club professional at the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California, shoots 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,” Block said. “I’m living a dream and I make sure I enjoy the moment. It doesn’t get any better than this, by no means.”

Block charges $125 per lesson at Arroyo Trabuco in Mission Viejo, California. She made just under $290,000 in Oak Hill.

Winding road for Koepka back to main title

For Koepka, his fifth major might have been the sweetest of all considering the scrutiny of his injury-induced pedestrian game and his decision to join LIV Golf, where he won two of the 54-hole events.

Hovland made it easy for him at the end. Koepka was a shot ahead on the 16th hole when Hovland hit his 9-iron from a bunker that dug into the edge in front of him, the same shot that stopped Conners on Saturday, and made a double bogey.

Koepka took a shot from the rough to 5 feet for birdie and was suddenly leading by four shots when Hovland hit a double bogey.

Scheffler started four shots behind and never got closer than two. His 65 matched the tournament’s best score, recorded by four other players on a day he was prepared to score.

Koepka capitalized on that by driving a 4-foot wedge on the second and third holes, and rolling an 8-foot birdie downhill on the fourth par-5.

But he got into the water on the sixth hole and did well to bogey, and another bogey from the rough on the seventh cut his lead on Hovland to one shot.

Hovland hit the 9-iron from the bunker on the 16th and could hear the terrible thud it made as it slammed into the grass at the edge of the sand. He knew immediately what happened, covered his mouth with a clenched fist. After a knockdown in a nasty rough, it took two more to get to the green.

“Brooks is a great player, and now he has five majors. I mean, that’s a great record. It’s not easy going toe-to-toe with a guy like that,” Hovland said. “He’s not going to 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 stayed to shake hands with Koepka, two LIV Golf players who used to get into each other’s shoes.

LIV had three players in the top 10 for the second straight major.

Koepka, who finished at 9-under 271, received $3.15 million and the heaviest trophy among the four majors. Nothing felt more valuable than that.