Brooks Koepka wins 3rd PGA Championship

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Brooks Koepka is the king of New York once again.

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After an out-of-character stumble at last month’s Masters Tournament, this generation’s most dependable closer vowed it would never happen again. On Sunday at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y., Koepka kept his word and won the PGA Championship for the third time, collecting his fifth major championship, third in the state of New York.

“I knew what I did in Augusta, I spent the whole night thinking about it,” Koepka said. “I knew what I did and I knew I was never going to come out and think that way again.”

Koepka followed up back-to-back 66s with a three-under-par 67 in the final round to finish at nine-under, two strokes clear of Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler. After blaming Augusta’s Sunday slip on playing too defensively, Koepka turned back the clock and showed his famous moxie, birdieing three of the first four holes at Oak Hill. The fast start saw Koepka pull away from playing partner Hovland and Canadian Corey Conners, who both started the day just one shot back.

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“I felt in control all day,” Koepka said. “This is probably the sweetest one of them all because all the hard work that went into this one.”

Publicly battling injuries, and privately battling a crisis of confidence, Koepka left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf last year. Finally healthy at last month’s Masters, the 33-year-old admitted that had he been healthy and playing better, the decision to leave the PGA Tour would have been more difficult.

Only Jack Nicklaus (5), Walter Hagen (5) and Tiger Woods (4) have won more PGA Championships. Koepka is now tied for 15th all-time in major championship wins, joining a group of six players with five majors, including Seve Ballesteros, Byron Nelson, and Peter Thomson.

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After three great days at Oak Hill, Corey Conners stumbled badly on Sunday, shooting a five-over 75 to fall into a tie for 12th at even par. Canada’s top golfer held the lead nearly all day Saturday, before making a double bogey after plugging his ball in the face of the bunker at the par-4 15th hole in his third round and making a double bogey, giving Koepka the lead.

A day later, and somewhat unbelievably, Hovland’s Sunday chase of Koepka effectively ended with on the same hole, with the same mistake, in the same sand trap.

“Just didn’t get out of the bunker,” Hovland said after his round. “Plugged in the lip and tried to get a drop and made a double bogey.”

For Conners, the PGA Championship was further proof that he has the game to win a major championship, but unfortunately also further evidence that the 31-year-old has to figure out how to play better when the lights are the brightest.

If Koepka is the King of New York, Michael Block is the Ace of Oak Hill after the hoodie-wearing man-of-the-people turned an improbable week into an impossible one, making a hole-in-one at the 151-yard par-3 15th. Playing partner Rory McIlroy had to tell him it went in after jarring his iron shot directly into the cup.

Block followed three consecutive even-par 70s with a one-over 71. An amazing up-and-down at the final hole got him into a tie for 15th, earning the Southern California teaching pro a spot in the field at next year’s championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky.

MORE TO COME…