a revived At Oak Hill in New York, Brooks Koepka defeated Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler to win the US PGA Championship for the third time.
The 33-year-old Koepka fired a three-under 67 to finish on nine under par and win his fifth major, two strokes ahead of Scheffler and Hovland.
Hovland recorded a two-under 68 while Scheffler, who reclaimed the world number one spot, shot a 65 to reach seven under. Hovland had a double bogey on the 16th.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland finished joint seventh on two under after carding a 69.
A hole-in-one at the 151-yard par-three 15th, played by south California club professional Michael Block, provided another magical moment on the East Course.
The 46-year-old was one of 20 club professionals competing in the competition, but he was the only one to advance, and his easygoing demeanor has charmed spectators all week.
They cheered again after the ace, though Block wasn’t aware of it until he asked McIlroy, who was playing with him, “Rory, did it go in?” before the two of them embraced.
Block’s ace, the first at this championship since 2020, helped him tie for 15th place, earning him an exemption for the competition at Valhalla the following year.
Koepka wins his third US PGA championship and sixth major.
Even yet, he was unable to overshadow American Koepka’s moment of vindication. Koepka had a four-shot lead at the April Masters before ultimately losing to Jon Rahm for second place.
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Koepka has played in and won a major championship in the state of New York three times in the last five years.
This is amazing, Koepka exclaimed. “I recall the situation two years ago. This is the coolest thing ever, and I am simply so pleased right now.
“I don’t know how many guys have won five times, but to be with those groups of names is absolutely incredible, and to be honest I’m not even sure I dreamed of it as a kid,” said the man who won five times.
As a quintuple major champion, he joins other legends of the game Seve Ballesteros, Peter Thomson, Byron Nelson, John Henry Taylor, and James Braid.
It is even the more amazing considering it occurs just two years after Koepka underwent major knee surgery and after his transition to the LIV Golf setup supported by Saudi Arabia.
Koepka receives the Wanamaker Trophy and a sizable check for $3.15 million (£2.53 million). He joins Tiger Woods (four), Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Walter Hagen, and Jack Nicklaus (five) as the only other players to have won the Championship three times or more.
Back to his spectacular best, Koepka
On Saturday’s first tee, Koepka received loud jeers from spectators due to his association with LIV Golf.
However, he continued to shine throughout the third round and once again on Sunday, ensuring that he got applause from the crowd as he tapped in his victory putt.
On the surface, his win may likely give the Saudi-funded circuit a big boost, but for an emotional Koepka, a player whose career was maybe in risk not long ago, it seemed to hit a deeper personal note.
Koepka has been thinking about his “choking” at the Masters in recent weeks and has vowed to never just try to hold on to a lead again after failing miserably in defensive mode at Augusta National.
True to his word, he made a string of birdies on the second, third, and fourth holes to take a four-shot lead before playing partner Hovland of Norway fought back.
It was a commanding start. Ian Baker-Finch, who won the 1991 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, was the last 54-hole leader at a major to shoot three under par or better in the opening four holes of the final round.
However, Koepka saw his advantage reduced to one shot after finding the water off the tee on the difficult sixth hole, and he and Hovland both missed the cut at the next round.
When Hovland drove his second shot into the face of a fairway bunker on the 16th hole, just like Corey Conners had in round three, the magnificent battle between the two players came to an end. The Norwegian was allowed a free drop, but it was in a terrible lie in the rough, so all he could do was a double bogey.
Hovland chipped in a birdie putt on the last to tie Scheffler for the lead at seven under when Scheffler had already made a late push with four birdies on the back nine.
Koepka had bogeyed the 17th hole, leaving him with two putts from 15 feet to complete an incredible victory.
McIlroy & Rose paid a price for inconsistencies
Fireworks were expected in Rochester because the final few matchups included two of the top three players in the world.However, Hovland, who has now placed in the top 10 in his previous three events but has yet to win one of men’s golf’s coveted four majors, led the challenge from those positioned just below Koepka, who led by one stroke overnight.
The four-time major champion McIlroy set the tone for his round on the first hole with a brilliant wedge shot that set up a tap-in birdie, but he bogeyed the following two holes to finish with a third consecutive 69.
When Justin Rose of England birdied the first and chipped in to preserve par on the second, he briefly closed to within three of the lead.
However, the 2013 US Open champion had his bid crumble after scoring a birdie on the sixth hole as he recorded three bogeys in his following five holes. He finally shot a closing 71 to finish one under.
Rahm, who has lost his position atop the world rankings, finished with a 71 as well, putting him considerably behind the field on seven over par.
Rahm only said, “Golf.” “It kicks you in the mouth and forces you to start over when you think, ‘Oh, I got this. It occurs to everyone.
