Rebel league\u2019s golfer outduels Hovland, Scheffler in back-nine battle for his fifth major title
\nROCHESTER
\nBrooks Koepka outdueled Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler in a back-nine battle Sunday to win the PGA Championship for his fifth major title, giving Saudi-backed LIV Golf a milestone major triumph.
\nThe 33-year-old American captured his third PGA Championship and became the first player to win a major since joining LIV, firing a three-under par 67 to finish 72 holes at Oak Hill on nine-under 271.
\n\u201cThis is probably the sweetest one of them all because all the hard work that went into it,\u201d Koepka said. \u201cThis one is definitely special.\u201d
\nNorway\u2019s 11th-ranked Hovland, chasing his first major title, and American Scheffler, last year\u2019s Masters winner and the new world number one, shared second on 273.
\n\u201cI put up a good fight. I played great today,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cI gave the guys on top of the leaderboard something to think about.
\n\u201cBut Brooks just played some fantastic golf this week. He played too good this weekend for me to catch up to him.\u201d
\nThere were a smattering of boos for Koepka as he walked onto the 18th green to make the concluding putts for the title, a sign of the bitter acrimony that has engulfed golf since the launch of the LIV circuit last year.
\nBut Koepka calmly finished off an impressive romp, his first major win since 2021 right knee surgery sidelined him for most of the past two seasons.
\n\u201cI hear it all,\u201d Koepka said. \u201cI just don\u2019t care. That\u2019s sports. You\u2019ve got to be mentally tough.\u201d
\nThinking of the rehabilitation and recovery made Koepka emotional as he walked off the 18th green.
\n\u201cI look back at where we were two years ago,\u201d Koepka said. \u201cI\u2019m so happy right now. I\u2019m at a loss for words. But this is the coolest thing.\u201d
\nKoepka\u2019s victory puts him among the winningest 20 men in major history.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s incredible,\u201d said Koepka. \u201cI\u2019m not sure I even dreamed when I was a kid I would win this many.\u201d
\nAustralia\u2019s Cam Davis and American Kurt Kitayama shared fourth on 277 with another LIV player, American Bryson DeChambeau.
\nFour-time major winner Rory McIlroy shared seventh on 278 with Austrian Sepp Straka.
\nKoepka was among the stars who jumped from the PGA Tour to breakaway LIV Golf, which offered record $25 million purses for 54-hole events, despite concern over Saudi Arabia\u2019s human rights record.
\nThe PGA banned LIV talent from its events, with a legal fight between them due in court next May. In the meantime, the majors have provided the only outlet for competition between players from the rival tours.
\nIn all, there were six major winners from LIV in the field of 156 with a combined 15 major crowns, none of them won since joining the upstart circuit, including Australian Cam Smith\u2019s British Open title last July.
\n\u201cWe haven\u2019t forgot how to play golf,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe\u2019re all great golfers out there.\u201d
\nKoepka led entering the final round at last month\u2019s Masters but, in his words, \u201cchoked\u201d away the green jacket, finishing second to Spain\u2019s Jon Rahm but taking lessons in mental attitude.
\n\u201cI definitely wouldn\u2019t have won today if that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d Koepka said.
\nIn the closing drama, Hovland was undone by a 9-iron from a fairway bunker at 16, where he embedded his ball into the bunker wall and went on to make double bogey.
\nKoepka sank a birdie putt at 16 from just inside five feet to reach 10-under and lead by four.
\n\u201cI thought I handled myself pretty well,\u201d Hovland said. \u201cPretty unfortunate on 16 but I don\u2019t feel like I gave it away.
\n\u201cBrooks deserved to win. He hit a lot of great putts and a lot of great shots.\u201d
\nScheffler birdied 18 and Koepka took bogey at 17 to lead by two at the 18th hole. He dropped his approach inside 10 feet and two-putted for victory.
\nUS club professional Michael Block aced the 151-yard par-3 15th on the fly with a 7-iron and was cheered all the way along his walk to the hole. It was the first hole-in-one by a club pro in the PGA since 1999.
\nBlock shot 71 to share 15th on 281, earning a spot in next year\u2019s PGA field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rebel league\u2019s golfer outduels Hovland, Scheffler in back-nine battle for his fifth major title ROCHESTER Brooks Koepka outdueled Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler in a back-nine battle Sunday to win the PGA Championship for his fifth major title, giving Saudi-backed LIV Golf a milestone major triumph. The 33-year-old American captured his third PGA Championship and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-332920","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n