Brooks Koepka WINS the US PGA Championship by two shots

A month ago, Brooks Koepka choked on the final day of the Masters and vowed it would never happen again. On Sunday night, as the sun went down at the US PGA Championship in Rochester, he fulfilled his promise.

He kept his nerve, he holed his putts and over 67 strokes he bit Viktor Hovland hard and soaked up the resistance of a brave Norwegian who put up an excellent fight. With a two-time win, one of the greatest golfers of the era ended a four-year wait for a fifth major title. Great stuff.

There will be those, many in fact, who choose to view that performance through the prism of what it means for his tour, which happens to be LIV, if you hadn’t already heard. By extension, there will be debates about the sheer irresistibility of his claims to a place in the Ryder Cup and the political gymnastics engendered by those talks.

Both are solid talking points that can wait, as first to the battle that unfolded at Oak Hill, and within that some more honor for Hovland.

He pushed Koepka, he hit at him and he stayed in the race as long as he could, which if we have to be specific meant 15 and a half holes. At that stage, the hole was one, just like at the start of the game, and those are the times when scar tissue can be a factor.

The American kept his nerve as he fended off resistance from Norwegian Viktor Hovland

For Koepka, that may have meant thoughts of how he ‘coughed up’ a two-stroke lead on his fourth round at Augusta. His words. Like choke. He’s long had little sympathy for himself when winning comes others’ way, but in this slugfest he didn’t bat an eyelid, and it was Hovland instead.

The key was the 16th hole, when the 25-year-old drove into a bunker and stood there, creating a double bogey. One shot turned into four, and it’s a testament to Hovland’s resilience that he cut it down to two.

In the end, he tied for second with Scottie Scheffler at seven under par, while it was Koepka who took his third title in this particular major.

When it was done, he clenched a fist and grinned – a big game hunter who disappeared from view before he got to LIV and became more obscure once he did.

The past two majors have since recalled the fact that no talent was lost in that transition, as well as the knee injuries that previously threatened to wreck his career.

Focusing on domestic interests for a moment, his revival may offer hope to Rory McIlroy. His final score of two under saved a top seven finish that seemed impossible based on his behavior and swing.

When it was done, Koepka clenched a fist and grinned – it was a reminder that no talent has been lost since his move to LIV Golf

It took courage, but he has to spend time at the drawing board to determine his direction of travel. There was also a top-10 for Justin Rose with one left, and Austria’s Sepp Straka adding to Hovland meant this was a good week for Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

Coming back to things on the track, it was an exciting final day. Sunday’s clear, warm conditions were a marked contrast to the various frosts, downpours and gusts of wind that had wreaked so much carnage during the first three rounds.

As such, the fairways were less firm and fast, the greens more receptive and the rough lacked some of its bite, resulting in many more reds on the scoreboard.

The potential showed in the scoring of the early starters and Cameron Smith typified it best with a 65, based on seven birdies. So there were possibilities and maybe even some hope that the East Course would allow for a chase.

For McIlroy, who started five behind Koepka, it would always require the kind of golf he hasn’t delivered in the last 10 weeks, and although he improved this weekend, too much debt had accumulated for a serious challenge.

In the end, he never came within the same zip code as Koepka and Hovland, who led a two-horse race for much of the afternoon until Scheffler later added another dimension.

In Koepka’s case, he was quickly out of the trap. He made each of the second, third and fourth birdies and got down to nine under, but Hovland hung on, with birdies of his own on four and five.

That put Hovland back two but Koepka came into the trickiest part of the track and drove off track to the right of six and as he escaped with a bogey five his lead was reduced to one.

It was down to two in Koepka’s favor after 10, but his attitude seemed a little more jittery at 11 as his tee shot to the par 3 went deep into the face of a greenside bunker. He barely had a point of view, but when there was a good bogey, it was the one he saved.

Over the next three holes they shared two birdies each, so the American was one point ahead on 16 when the key moment of this showdown came. The crux of the drama came when Hovland drove into a bunker to the right of the fairway and shot his sand deep into the edge of the trap 172 yards from the green.

He took off with a six and Koepka twisted the knife with a birdie for 10 under and a four-stroke lead over second place, now including Scheffler, who soon held it outright at seven under after closing with a birdie for a 65.

Hovland drew level with Scheffler with a final birdie on 18, while Koepka, needing only to avoid an implosion, dropped one on 17 and galloped softly to a big win.