KOEPKA FINISHES OFF WHAT HE STARTS
BROOKS Koepka took his place in PGA Championship history with a wire-to-wire victory, minus the style points.
In a raging wind that turned Bethpage Black into a beast, Koepka lost all but one shot of his record seven-shot lead Sunday.
He lost the brutal Long Island crowd, which began chanting “DJ!” for Dustin Johnson as Koepka was on his way to a fourth straight bogey.
But he delivered the key shots over the closing stretch as Johnson faded with two straight bogeys, and Koepka closed with a 4-over 74 for a two-shot victory and joined Tiger Woods as the only backto-back winners of the PGA Championship since it went to stroke play in 1958.
His 74 was the highest final round by a PGA champion since Vijay Singh won in a playoff in 2004 at Whistling Straits.
“I’m just glad I don’t have to play any more holes,” Koepka said.
“That was a stressful round of golf. I’m glad to have this thing back in my hands.”
Johnson now has runnerup finishes in all four of the majors, the wrong kind of career Grand Slam.
“I gave it a run,” he said. “That’s all you can ask for.” Koepka returned to No.1 in the world with a performance that defines his dominance in golf’s biggest events.