Brooks Koepka on US PGA victory? "All the f***ing s*** I had to go through!"
Brooks Koepka bounced back from his Masters choke with a dominant win at Oak Hill.
LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka was nearly reduced to tears after he held his nerve to claim the 2023 PGA Championship.
Koepka, who recently turned 33 years old, carded a final round of 3-under 67 at Oak Hill to finish on 9-under par to win by two strokes over Norway's Viktor Hovland.
Hovland began the day one stroke behind leader Koepka but his charge came to an abrupt end when he hit his approach at the par-4 16th directly into the lip of the fairway bunker from close range.
It led to a costly double bogey and Koepka was able to cruise to victory, earning his third PGA Championship and the fifth major of his career.
Scottie Scheffler, the 2022 Masters champion, finished T-2 with Hovland on 7-under after posting a final round of 5-under 65.
The defending champion, Justin Thomas, made the cut on the number but struggled over the weekend and finished on 12-over par in a tie for 65th.
Rory McIlroy battled his swing all weekend and finished inside the top-10 after his forgettable Masters experience.
"It's not a bad week considering how I'm feeling," McIlroy told the media.
Koepka's victory means that he joins a pantheon of great names, becoming the 20th golfer in history to win five majors.
How it all unfolded...
Koepka came racing out of the blocks and made birdie in three of his opening four holes.
Victory seemed a formality but the golfing gods are notoriously cruel and unforgiving.
Koepka lost his tee shot at No. 6 and scrambled hard to make a bogey. He then dropped another shot as Hovland drew level for one hole.
But Hovland also went backwards at No. 7. Koepka made the turn in 1-under and birdied 10 and 12 after making an incredible bogey at 11 when he found his golf ball plugged in the bunker on an up-slope.
At this point Scheffer was emerging as a real threat but was quickly running out of holes.
Disaster then struck for Hovland at 16 when he found himself in an identical situation that derailed Corey Conners in the third round.
Hovland, who will likely be a key member of the European Ryder Cup team, said:
Elsewhere, 46-year-old club professional Michael Block, playing alongside McIlroy, made a slam dunk ace en route to the biggest pay day of his life.
For Koepka though, this is a story of redemption. He has battled injuries for the better part of two years.
Koepka told the media he did consider retiring. He was visibly emotional in the immediate aftermath of his victory.
He said:
He joined LIV Golf last June and later appeared to concede that had he been fully fit and healthy his decision to leave the PGA Tour would have been harder.
Koepka collects the Wanamaker Trophy and $3.15m.
He also becomes only the sixth player to win the Championship on three or more occasions - joining Walter Hagen and Jack Nicklaus (five), Tiger Woods (four), Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead (three).
Final leaderboard
-9 B. Koepka
-7 S. Scheffler, V. Hovland
-3 C. Davis, K. Kitayama, B. DeChambeau
-2 S. Straka, R. McIlroy
-1 C. Smith, P. Cantlay, J. Rose
E S. Lowry, V. Perez, C. Conners
+1 E. Cole, T. Hatton, M. Block
Ben joined the GolfMagic team in September 2021, initially as a content executive.
These days, he assumes the position of content manager.
