THIS GUY MAY HAVE A FUTURE
Tiger proves he’s for real with 2nd at PGA
ST. LOUIS — The fist pump for the birdie at the 18th was demonstrative, but didn’t have the same ferocity as the celebration a decade ago at Torrey Pines.
The result was not a major triumph, but a significant step in an extraordinary comeback.
Tiger Woods didn’t win the PGA Championship on Sunday, but it sure felt that way for much of a loud and raucous day at Bellerive Country Club.
When Woods closed out his best score in the final round of a major – 6-under-par 64 — with a birdie on the 72nd hole, he left the green like a hero on parade. As he crossed the bridge to scoring, thousands cheered him from below. Woods answered with a simple thumbs up.
Woods stirred roars the likes of which hadn’t been heard in a major since he won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. He ended up second by two shots to a 28-year-old ball-striking machine named Brooks Koepka, who is overpowering golf courses and staving off competitors the way the 42year-old Woods did in the prime of his career.
“I played with him in a practice round,” Woods said, “and he was literally hitting it 340, 350 (yards) in the air. And when a guy’s doing that, and hitting it straight, and as good a putter as he is, it’s tough to beat.”
The 100th version of this tournament ended with a strange vibe. Koepka captured his second major championship of the year and third in 15 months, and still it left the crowd somewhat deflated.
If anything, it plays perfectly into Koepka’s narrative: The supremely talented athlete who just can’t get his due.
Asked bluntly on Sunday evening if he would be recognized for so much greatness so early in a career, Koepka’s expression turned cool. “I hope so,” he said, with no elaboration. Koepka started the day leading by two shots, and though he was challenged on the back nine by both Woods and his own playing partner, Adam Scott, he always had an answer.
He could have run away with the tournament on the back nine, but missed three straight birdie tries. When Scott tied him at 14 under with back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13, Koepka answered with birdies at 15 and 16.
Koepka smoothly parred the last two holes to shoot his fourth round in the 60s – a 4under 66 that put him at 16-under 264. The total beat by one the previous tournament record of 265.
At 14 under, Woods finished solo second for his best showing in a major since he was runner-up in the 2009 PGA. Scott bogeyed the last hole to score 67 and place third at 13 under.
Koepka, whose only PGA Tour win outside of majors is the 2015 Waste Management Open, joined Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Jordan Spieth as the only players to win three majors before the age of 29. He’s only the fifth player to capture the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in the same year.
Yet Koepka knew that all those possible accomplishments didn’t mean much to a crowd that wanted to see Woods add to his own history with a 15th major championship. He said he couldn’t help but acknowledge the building roars as Woods’ eight birdies on the day were posted on various scoreboards around the course.
With as much good-natured grace as he could muster, Koepka said, “I think other than me and my team, everybody was rooting for Tiger. As they should. He is the greatest player to ever play the game. To have the comeback he’s having is incredible. You look at the British Open when he finally got the lead, how the energy in that crowd was.
“It brought me back to when I was a kid,” he added. “When you heard those roars when he was making a charge. Being a part of that as a fan is cool, and even when you’re playing it’s pretty neat. It kind of pushes you to step up your game because you know he’s right there if you falter.”