Breakthrough bids slip away

Kisner, Matsuyama stumble to lose shot at first major title.

England’s Jordan L. Smith made the most of his first major, finishing at 1 under and giving him a top-10 finish.

The 24-year-old Smith, who grew up idolizing Justin Rose, shot a final-round 68 to cap his first professional tournament on American soil.

He said his performance far exceeded any expectations he might have had coming into the event.

Smith earned his way into the last major of the year by winning the Porsche European Open earlier this year. He will earn an automatic berth in next year’s PGA Championship with his finish in the top 15.

Smith finished three shots ahead of another well-known golfer with the same first name — Jordan Spieth.

Dustin Johnson, the world’s top-ranked player, finished strong with a 4-under 67 in the final round. He finished the tournament at even par.

Johnson made seven birdies on the day and shot 32 on the front nine.

The key for Johnson was making some of the shorter putts that he had been miss- ing all week at Quail Hollow Club.

Johnson says his back is still a little tight, but he’s not in any pain and plans to play in the FedEx Cup playoffs that start in two weeks as well as the President’s Cup.

Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama spent a lot of time atop the leaderboard at the PGA Championship.

Just not when it mattered most.

Kisner, who led or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds, wound up in a tie for seventh place. Matsuyama finished one stroke better than Kisner, in a tie for fifth place, after sharing the 36-hole lead and starting the final round one stroke back.

“The last major of the year, and I was in contention,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter. “All I can do is just try harder next time.”

Kisner shot a 3-over 74 on Sunday and finished four strokes behind winner Justin Thomas. Matsuyama shot 72 and finished at 5 under for the tournament.

The leaderboard was full of players who have never won a major championship — of the top eight finishers, only Louis Oosthuizen arrived at Quail Hollow Club with one — so it seemed inevitable that someone would claim one for the first time.

Kisner and Matsuyama hoped it would be them. Especially at the point when they both were part of a five- way tie for first along with Thomas, Francesco Molinari and Chris Stroud.

“I really liked the way I started out, hitting the ball solid and giving myself a lot of good looks,” Kisner said. “Just not making the putts that I need to make to win major championships.”

Kisner missed six putts inside of 15 feet — three from 10 feet or closer — during his final round.

“I didn’t make the putts that I’d been making the first two days over the week- end,” he said. “A lot of misses inside of 10 feet, and at some point the length is going to catch up with me and guys that hit it 30 (yards) by me are going to have an advantage if I’m not making the putts inside of 10 feet.”

Kisner was humming along with 67s in each of his first two rounds. Matsuyama followed a first-round 70 with a 64, joining Kisner in the lead at 8 under — the first time for either player to be atop the leaderboard after any round of a major.

“The course p layed tough,” Matsuyama said. “The pins were receptive, though, more than yester- day. I was just disappointed (in) the way I played.” noon, but only so he could celebrate the moment with Thomas, close friends since they were 14.

“So awesome, dude,” Spi- eth told him. Thomas was every bit of that.

With five players still in the mix on the back nine, Thomas surged ahead by chipping in from 40 feet on the par-3 13th hole, and holding his nerve down the stretch as his challengers eventually faded.

Hideki Matsuyama, bidding to become the first player from Japan to win a major, recovered from back- to-back bogeys with birdies on the 14th and 15th holes to get within one shot.

But the championship turned on the 16th hole. Thomas faced a 6-foot par putt to stay at 8 under. Matsuyama caught a good lie over the green and chipped to 5 feet. Thomas wasted no time over the putt and drilled it in. Matsuyama missed and was two shots behind.

“The last major of the year, and I was in contention,” said Matsuyama, a runner-up at the U.S. Open. “All I can do is try harder next time.”

Thomas sealed it with a 7-iron from 221 yards, so pure that he let the club twirl through his hands as he watched it clear the water and roll out to 15 feet. The birdie putt curled in and his lead was up to three going to the 18th. A final bogey only affected the score.

Thomas finished at 8-under 276 for his fourth victory of the year.

The PGA has been part of the Thomas family for three generations. Paul Thomas, his grandfather, was the longtime pro at Zanesville Country Club in Ohio who played in the 1962 U.S. Open. His father played at Morehead State and had aspirations of playing the tour that didn’t last long. Instead, Mike Thomas became a club pro who watched his son fall in love with the game and grow into a force on the PGA Tour.

“I can’t put it into words,” Thomas said about his PGA of America heritage. “I wish my grandpa could be here for it. It’s so special to get it done.”

Kevin Kisner was the last one who had a chance to catch him. But he threeputted from 100 feet on the 16th for bogey, couldn’t birdie the 17th from long range and hit his second shot into the water on 18 and finished with a double bogey. Kisner, the 54-hole leader, played the final three holes in 6 over on the weekend. He closed with a 74.

“That’s not going to be fun to look at,” he said of his weekend finish over the brutal closing stretch at Quail Hollow. “... I had every opportunity. I just didn’t finish it off.”

Matsuyama also hit into the water on No. 18 and made bogey for a 72 to finish three back.

Louis Oosthuizen (70), Patrick Reed (67) and Francesco Molinari (67) tied for second, though none had a chance to win playing the 18th.