Walker triumphs on marathon day in major thriller
SPRINGFIELD, N.J.— The stars never aligned this magnificently for Jimmy Walker.
On the longest final day at the PGA Championship in 64 years, Walker produced three big birdies on the back nine at Baltusrol and held his nerve Sunday against the No.1player in the world to the very end. He closed with a three-under 67 for a one-shot victory over defending champion Jason Day.
Walker provided a little too much drama at the end.
He built a three-shot lead with an eight-foot birdie putt on the par-five 17th, only to watch Day blasted a 3wood onto the green at the par-five 18th to 15 feet for an eagle, setting off the loudest cheer of the week and closing the margin to one shot.
Needing only a par to win, Walker went for the green and left it in deep rough to the right and well below the green. He safely pitched to 35 feet, and the putt settled three feet beyond the hole. He said he’d never felt more nerves on such a short putt, but there was never a doubt.
Walker calmly pumped his fist twice and embraced caddie Andy Sanders, whom he met at Baltusrol in the 2000 U.S. Amateur when they played a practice round.
It was a long road to his first major for the 37-year-old American, and it ended with a marathon.
“Sometimes, things just don’t come easy,” Walker said after hoisting the 37-pound Wanamaker Trophy, amazing that he had any strength left after a 36-hole final day brought on my rain over the weekend. “He really put it on me to make a par. Sometimes pars are hard. But we got it.
“It was amazing,” he said. “It was a battle all day.”
Day, trying to join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners of the PGA in stroke play, came out to the 18th green with his son to watch the finish and quickly found Walker. “Great stuff, mate,” he said.
In a most peculiar final day at a major, the PGA Championship allowed for preferred lies — that never happens in a major — because of nearly four inches of rain during the week that drenched the Lower Course. Desperate to beat the clock and avoid a second straight Monday finish at Baltusrol, the pairings stayed the same for the final round.
Walker and Day were playing with occasional mud on their golf balls on the back nine of the third round Sunday morning as some players behind them were able to lift, clean and place their golf balls in short grass in the fourth round.
But it ended on a happy note for Walker. He is a major champion, completing a sweep of first-time winners in the majors this year. Better yet: It moved him from No. 29 to No. 4 in the Ryder Cup standings, all but assuring him a spot on the team.
Walker is a late bloomer who has received as much attention in recent years for his astrophotography, with some of his work recognized by NASA. He needed a performance that was out of this world in a wet and wild Sunday, and he delivered every step of the way. He shot 68-67 on Sunday to finish at14-under 266, one shot from David Toms’ record score in the 2001PGA Championship.