Johnson’s bid to get the title blown away
Brooks Koepka’s coronation in this PGA Championship nearly got blown off the golf course.
It didn’t because his main competition, Dustin Johnson, had just as much trouble keeping his ball in play down the stretch.
Johnson was one shot back of his close friend after a birdie on No. 15, a hole he birdied all four rounds. The 3 he shot added significant tension to what had looked like a runaway win by Koepka — until Koepka’s sevenshot lead and the way he was mastering the course disappeared in a flurry of bogeys on the back nine after a birdie at No. 10.
Two of the longest and strongest players on the PGA Tour struggled mightily with the swirling winds in Farmingdale, N.Y., that at times reached 20 mph.
“I knew today, starting off, that it was going to play tough,” said Johnson, who wound up two shots behind Koepka and will relinquish the No. 1 ranking to the winner. “It was the most wind we’ve had all week.”
The gusts might have been at their worst on the 16th hole, where Koepka pretty much clinched his second straight PGA, his fourth major, and became the first player to hold two back-to-back major crowns at the same time.
Johnson was having what had been by far the best round of the day. He was at 8-under overall when his tee shot on 16 landed smack in the middle of the fairway. But from 194 yards, his 5-iron approach caught a gust and soared over the green into nasty rough.
A nice chip got Johnson to 7 feet, but he missed the putt.
His momentum was gone with the wind, and he also bogeyed the 17th after a tee shot well right into the rough beside the par-3 green. The wind again played a role.
Koepka, who was on the 15th fairway and knew from the crowd’s reaction that Johnson had dropped a shot, came to 16 having bogeyed four in a row. He desperately needed to hit the fairway — something he did six times all day — and did so. From 163 yards, he put his ball 49 feet from the hole, providing more of a test. Koepka passed it by two-putting.
“Probably doesn’t sound like much, but the putt on 16 I thought just gave me a little bit more confidence coming down the stretch,” Koepka said. “I know I missed one on 17, but you know, I think 16 helped me make 18.”
Varner’s bad day:
After getting supportive messages from Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan the night before, Harold Varner III enjoyed a solid start to the final round of the PGA Championship.
The 28-year-old birdied the first hole at Bethpage Black playing in the final pairing to draw five strokes back of Koepka, who bogeyed the hole.
It was the best thing to happen to Varner on Sunday. The 174thranked player in the world shot an 11-over 81 and went from sole possession of second place to finishing tied for 36th with a 6-over total.
It marked the first time a player in the last pairing on the final day of a major shot in the 80s.
“Man, it’s just rough. It was hard. It was really hard,” said Varner, whose only win was in the 2017 Australian PGA championship. “I just didn’t play well enough. It was a great experience. I’m going to get a lot better. It’s just a hard golf course.”
U.S. Senior Women:
Helen Alfredsson of Sweden closed with 13 straight pars for a 1-over 72, giving her a two-shot victory in the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, N.C. Alfredsson finished at 1-over 285.
Tied for the lead with Trish Johnson of England going into the final round, Alfredsson made doublebogey on the par-3 fifth hole to fall two shots behind. That was her last mistake, and Johnson dropped too many shots to keep pace. Juli Inkster finished with eight straight pars for a 70. She was runner-up for the second straight year, joining Johnson at 287.
NCAA women:
No. 7 Stanford was in sixth place after the second round at the NCAA championships, four strokes ahead of the cut line going into Monday's final round of stroke play. The Cardinal shot 20-over 604 overall at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
Albane Valenzuela is tied for sixth at 1-over.
The top eight teams after Monday's round advance to match play, which begins Tuesday.