Brooks Koepka He struggled to put into words what it meant to win his third US PGA Championship and fifth major title after an impressive victory at Oak Hill.
Koepka had a two-shot lead in a final round of 67. Victor Hovland And Scottie SchefflerHis second-place share was enough to carry him back to the top of the world rankings.
Koepka will climb from 44th to 13th in the updated standings and will also enter the automatic qualifying ranks for the United States Ryder Cup team.
The 33-year-old won his first four majors in eight events, but suffered injuries and loss of form before joining the team. LIV Golf Last year, he suggested that those who made the switch, formerly Saudi-funded, would “sell”.
“This is incredible, this is wild,” Koepka said. “Looking back at where we were two years ago, I am very happy now. I am at a loss for words. It is a wonderful thing.
“This is definitely much sweeter. A lot of blood, sweat and tears have flowed this time. Life It has changed a lot for me but it is very gratifying for me.
“I don’t know how many people have won five times, but it’s incredible to be with these names. I’m not even sure I ever dreamed of doing this as a kid.
“I’m not trying to prove to anyone that I can still play. I still can, and I love when things start to come together. I think when I’m healthy, I’m back to where I was during that nice stretch.
Hovland finished fourth, seventh and second in the last three majors, and his closing 68 is a significant improvement in the final rounds of 74 at both last year’s Open Championship and this year’s Masters.
“It sucks right now, but it’s really great to see things going in the right direction,” Hovland said.
“If I keep busy with my job and keep working on what I’m doing, I think we’ll get one of these soon.
“Brooks is a great player and now he has five majors. I mean, that’s a great record. It’s not easy to deal with a guy like that.
“So I feel like I belong here, I need to get a little better and I hope it goes the way I want next time.”
Scheffler had to fret over the bird strikes in the first and ninth places as he failed to put any early pressure on Koepka.
“I came out of the two worst lips I’ve ever seen today,” he said. The balls were dripping and I thought I was ready to take a step as if they were coming in.
“One went like a horseshoe at a slow pace, and the other stuck with his lips out and about an inch off the edge. To win these tournaments, hits have to come down. They didn’t, but I put up a good fight.
“I gave the guys at the top of the leaderboard something to think about and I made some extra moves, but Brooks played great golf this week. He played really well this weekend for me to catch up.”
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