Future bright for Woods after PGA, but Koepka is in the way

ST. LOUIS — Over an ear-splitting afternoon in which most of the cheers weren't for him, Brooks Koepka got a taste of what golf feels like when Tiger Woods is in the hunt.

And in his exhilarating but ultimately futile attempt to catch Koepka at the PGA Championship, Woods got a taste of what it's going to take to get back on top in the majors.

Woods provided the thrills Sunday (Monday Manila time) — a fist-pumping, club-slamming, roller-coaster ride of a final round in which he threatened from beginning to end but couldn't knock Koepka out of the lead, or deny him the trophy.

Koepka heard the commotion in front of him all day — "You could hear a different roar like every 30 seconds, so we knew what was going on," he said — but did what he does best at the majors: He put on a calm, collected show of precision golf to hold off Woods by two shots and become only the fifth person to win a US Open and PGA Championship in the same year.

When it was over, Woods had a warm hug and a huge smile for the guy he calls "Brooksy."


"It's tough to beat when the guy hits it 340 down the middle," Woods said. "When a guy's doing that and hitting it straight, and as good a putter as he is, it's tough to beat."

Koepka set the PGA Championship record with a four-day score of 16-under 264. His best shot over a final round of 4-under 66 was a lasered 4-iron to the 16th green that landed 6 feet away and set up a birdie. That gave Koepka a two-shot cushion that allowed him to coast into the finish, much the way he did at Shinnecock earlier this summer, and at Erin Hills in last year's US Open.

Drama? That was Woods' domain.

Boy did he deliver.

Over a wild first nine holes, Woods didn't hit a single fairway off the tee but got up and down from everywhere. He needed a grand total of 10 putts to make the turn in 3-under 32 and stay within two shots.

He hit a poor approach on No. 11, but stared down a 30-foot putt for birdie that would have kept momentum on his side. The ball came to rest on the inner-edge of the cup — much like the famous chip-in on the 16th hole at Augusta in 2005. That one went in. This one stayed out, and Woods bent down and dropped his hands to his knees in agony.

But he did not quit. He hit an approach to 5 feet for birdie on 12, then a tee shot to 10 for another birdie on 13.

Roars echoed through the trees at Bellerive.

"We didn't mention it at all," said Koepka's caddie, Ricky Elliott. "It was pretty evident what Tiger was doing."

Woods could've made it louder.

He had a 20-foot putt on No. 16 to capture a share of the lead, but pushed it barely off line. He followed by blocking his drive on 17 to the right of a creek that skirts the right-hand side of the par-5 hole. He scrambled for a par there when he really needed a birdie and was three back once he reached the 18th fairway.

For one final flourish, Woods sank a 19-foot putt for a birdie that got him to 14 under and pumped his fist to celebrate.

"Making that putt at least gave me a chance," Woods said.

He needed Koepka to collapse over the last two holes.

It wasn't going to happen.

Koepka is proving to be the prototype player for his generation and beyond — a 28-year-old workout nut who splits time between the weight room and the driving range. He's got deft touch and a pure putting stroke, but is more about overpowering golf courses than overthinking them.

He has now won three majors over the past 14 months — and joins Jordan Spieth, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Woods as the only players since World War II with three majors before turning 30.

Getting the best of Koepka sets up as a daunting challenge for Woods, though the 42-year-old, 14-time major winner could easily argue he's been through worse.

He's had multiple back surgeries, and as recently as 11 months ago, wasn't able to swing a golf club.

He has now contended on the back nine on Sunday in consecutive majors — making it clear that Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Spieth and the rest of that generation could very well have to deal with him, and all the baggage that comes with him, in majors in 2019 and beyond.

"This is the first real Tiger effect I've experienced, with that many people," said defending champion Justin Thomas, who played two groups ahead and finished tied for sixth.

While Woods has never been one to celebrate a loss, he couldn't help but feel good about the road he's taken over the past year — one that ended with a tantalizingly close call at Bellerive.

"I'm in uncharted territory," Woods said. "I had to kind of figure this out on my own and it's been really hard — a lot harder than people think. And I'm just very pleased at what I've done so far ... going from where I've come from, to now over the last year, it's been pretty cool."

source: philstar.com

Rory McIlroy wins dramatic shootout to capture PGA title

LOUISVILLE – Rory McIlroy put himself among golf’s greatest legends Sunday by winning his fourth major title in dramatic fashion, capturing the PGA Championship in a shotmakers’ showdown at rain-softened Valhalla.

Three weeks after winning the British Open, the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland rallied on the back nine to take his second major victory in a row and third consecutive triumph overall in impressive fashion.

“Amazing. Incredible. I’m not sure I’ll ever have another summer like this,” McIlroy said. “I’ve got a lot of golf left to play this year, but I have to enjoy what I’ve just done.”

McIlroy fired a three-under par 68 in the final round to finish 72 holes on 16-under par 268 and edge five-time major winner Phil Mickelson by one shot with Sweden’s fourth-ranked Henrik Stenson and American Rickie Fowler two adrift.

McIlroy’s hat-trick of victories after the British Open and a World Golf Championships event last week give him the longest win streak since Tiger Woods completed a run of five in a row in 2008.

McIlroy became the fourth-youngest man to win his fourth major — trailing only Young Tom Morris, Woods and Jack Nicklaus — and has taken four of the past 15 majors contested.

“I try and put all this talk aside every time it comes up, but Tiger and Jack are two of the most successful players in our sport of all time,” McIlroy said.

“I’m on a nice track at the minute and I’m on a nice path. I’ve still got a long way to go, but to be in their company at this age is very special.”

McIlroy is the first man to win two majors in a row or in the same year since Ireland’s Padraig Harrington took the British Open and PGA in 2008.

Combined with German Martin Kaymer’s US Open triumph in June, McIlroy’s double means Europeans have won three of four majors in a year for the first time.

McIlroy took the Wanamaker Trophy, even grabbing the lid as it fell during the awards ceremony, and a $1.8 million (1.34 million euro) top prize.

Eagle lets McIlroy soar

A backstretch trophy battle worthy of anything the Kentucky Derby horses at nearby Churchill Downs ever produced came on a course weakened by 2.2 inches of rain over three days.

Bogeys at the third and sixth holes dropped McIlroy from the lead and even after a birdie at seven he made the turn three off the pace set by penultimate pair Mickelson and Fowler.

At the par-5 10th, McIlroy smashed his second shot 274 yards and made a seven-foot eagle putt to pull within one stroke of the leaders.

“That was the turning point in the whole tournament for me,” McIlroy said. “I struggled on the front nine and then to get myself within one of Rickie and Phil, I felt like I had a really good chance.”

US left-hander Mickelson found the rough at 16, bounced his bunker shot over the hole and left a 10-foot par putt just short for bogey.

McIlroy found a fairway bunker at 17 but hit to 10 feet and curled in the birdie putt for a two-shot lead.

An earlier rain delay had forced the players to race nightfall to finish, with dark clouds looming as the drama reached the par-5 18th hole.

McIlroy found a greenside bunker with his approach, made while Mickelson and Fowler were on the green in the dimming light.

“It was a classy move for those guys to let us come up because they didn’t need to,” McIlroy said. “They could have let us just stand there and wait in darkness and make it a little bit more difficult. True sportsmanship. They called us up and it was a classy move.”

Mickelson missed an 70-foot eagle bid but tapped in for birdie to pull within one of McIlroy while Fowler settled for par to end his title hopes.

McIlroy blasted out to 34 feet, left a birdie putt inches short and tapped in to win.

Defeat hurts for US duo

“It was good for me to get back in the thick of it, to compete in big tournaments,” said Mickelson, whose only prior top-10 effort this year was a January runner-up finish at Abu Dhabi.

“I’m disappointed in the outcome. Had I been able to finish those last five or six holes strong, could have totally flipped the way I look at this year.”

Fowler, the US and British Open runner-up who also shared fifth at the Masters, matched Nicklaus and Woods as the only players to finish in the top five at all four majors one year, the first since Woods did it in 2005 but also the first to do so without a win.

“This is probably the one that hurts the most for me with the majors this year,” Fowler said. “I just wish I could have given myself a couple of better looks on the last couple holes.”

source: interaksyon.com