The Golf Blog: Brooks Koepka avoids massive choke to win PGA Championship, back to back
"To be standing here today with four majors is, it's mind blowing. Today was definitely the most satisfying out of all of them for how stressful that round was."
– Brooks Koepka is still processing his PGA Championship victory. pic.twitter.com/gLGGi8GLLx
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) May 20, 2019
The Golf Blog says: Just when you thought Brooks Koepka was the unflappable bionic golfer, he rattled off four straight bogeys on the back nine of Bethpage Black, squandering a 7-shot lead down to a 1-shot lead over Dustin Johnson. Hard to imagine at the start of the round.
DJ, who always seems to be snake-bitten at the majors, proceeded to bogey his next two holes, however. Koepka had a 2-shot lead on the 18th hole, but hooked his drive slightly into the rough. He pitched out onto the fairway–playing for bogey at worst–and then hit a perfect wedge to the green, leaving an 8-footer, which he easily made. Had Brooks not closed on Sunday, it would have been the largest final round lead to be lost in PGA history. In response to a question about the New York fans yelling for “DJ,” Koepka admitted he “half-choked” and gave the fans reason to pull for DJ: ““I think I kind of deserved it. You’re going to rattle off four in a row and it looks like you’re going to lose it; I’ve been to sporting events in New York. I know how it goes,” Koepka said. “I think it actually helped. It was at a perfect time because I was just thinking, ‘OK, all right, I’ve got everybody against me. Let’s go.’”
Koepka now stands with 4 majors, both back to back (US Open and now PGA Championship). He’s 29 years old and still well behind the major victory pace set by Tiger Woods, who had 11 majors by age 30 (yes, incredible run!). But Brooks appears to be head and shoulders above his peers, including 30-year-old Rory McIlroy (also with 4 majors).
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