Brooks Koepka has defeated fellow American Tiger Woods to win the US PGA Championship and claim his third major championship title.
Brooks Koepka has defended his US Open. Photo: Photosport
The tall, big-hitting American fired a four-under-par 66 at Missouri's Bellerive Country Club to earn a 16-under total and a two-shot win from 14-time major champion Woods (64), with Australia's Adam Scott (67) third at 13 under.
Koepka successfully defended his breakthrough 2017 US Open victory at Shinnecock Hills this year to win back-to-back US Open crowns.
The 28-year-old has now won three of the last seven majors and became the fifth golfer - and the first since Woods in 2000 - to capture both the PGA and US Open in the same year.
"Other than me, my team, everybody was rooting for Tiger," said Koepka. "It kind of pushes you to step up your game.
"I mean, you have to because you know he's right there if you fall."
While Woods and Scott were mounting charges on the way home, Koepka, who has only one other victory on the PGA Tour at Phoenix in 2015, stalled with five consecutive pars.
But when Scott grabbed a share of top and with Woods nipping at his heels one behind, Koepka again showed his steel with birdies at 15 and 16 to regain control, even if Woods kept up the pressure until the end by rolling in a 20-foot birdie at 18.
"I mean, everybody on the golf course heard it (the noise)," Koepka said. "You could hear the roars when we were on 10 and 11, and then you could kind of hear it trickle down as they changed the leaderboards all the way through.
"It's pretty obvious when Tiger makes a birdie. I think everybody at the golf course cheers for him."
New Zealander Ryan Fox completed his career-best finish in a major championship, ending the week at six-under par and in a tie for 27th, 10 shots behind Koepka.
The New Zealand No.1 carded a final round two-under 68, finishing the day with six birdies and four bogeys.
Currently ranked 82nd in the world, Fox has now made an impressive five out of six cuts in major championships.
Koepka's win places him in elite company as he joins Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win the US Open and US PGA in the same season.
Woods' final-round 64 matched the day's best round with Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello and Englishman Tyrrell Haton.
"I made a bit of a run, looks like I'm going to come up a couple of shots short," said Woods after coming off the 18th.
"It was a struggle, I found a little bit of something on the back nine, I was hanging in with my mind basically, it kind of got me through."
- Reuters/AAP
