Streb, who missed the cut at the year’s first three majors, has not managed a top-10 finish in a US PGA event since his share of 10th at last year’s PGA Championship – 27 events of mounting frustration that could end with him hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy.
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Jutanugarn made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th to take a two-shot advantage to the final hole.
“I knew I was two [shots] back going into, pretty much, the whole back side”, said Day after his round. “I didn’t have my best game today and I didn’t make a putt all day”.
The American, a five-time PGA Tour victor, holed out from a greenside bunker to birdie the 10th and rolled in a 30-footer for birdie at 11 to lead by two. “I think the guys that, you know, Henrik, he’s been around forever. I really read it to go left-to-right and it went dead straight”, Day said. The final birdie on the 17th was the most important because he had a cushion.
The American fended off an awesome final hole eagle from world No 1 Jason Day to land his first Slam event.
“To be able to hit the shots on 18, the tee shot and then the second shot was pretty special”.
“Great stuff, mate”, he told Walker.
“Let’s start off, he’s a tremendous bloke”. We’re always parked right next to each other, always hanging out. Walker at least had time to rest in his travel bus – he is a frequent neighbor of Day on the Tour – and get right back out into the final round.
If you didn’t spend the past four major Sundays continually bouncing off the edge of your couch, it might be time to check for a pulse.
Walker, 37, with five wins on the USA circuit and No. 48 in world rankings, took the first major of his career as he scored a birdie on the next-to-last hole and ended 14 under par, ahead of Australia’s Jason Day with 13 under, who nearly caught up with him with a prodigious eagle on the last hole of the match.
Day, who battled back after bogeys on two of the first three holes, answered with a 22-foot birdie putt at the 11th.
“It was quite a odd finish to the PGA Championship”, said Day. Weather issues on Saturday played havoc with the schedule, and the two-man groups from the third round remained together for the fourth regardless of scores. But he also recognized it might not have made a difference.
“I could remember thinking when I met him, ‘Wow, that’s Andy Sanders from Houston”.
And then Jason Day made him do a little bit more. More mistakes or crucial moments can happen in situations like that. “But we all understand we were just trying to get the championship in”.
Round of the day: Playing their final rounds while the leaders were still working through Round 3, Joost Luiten and Soren Kjeldsen posted matching 5-under 65s to finish 3 under for the week, tied for 33.
Earlier this season, Stuard won for the first time on the PGA Tour with a victory at the Zurich Classic in May.
Sometimes it is just your day in golf, and on Sunday that didn’t mean Jason Day at the PGA. All 72 holes were completed with darkness not far away. He followed with rounds of 65, 64 and 63, parring the final three holes Sunday for a seven-stroke victory over Rhein Gibson.
Walker, a former top-10 player now set to rise from 48th in the rankings, fired a three-under par 67 in the final round to finish 72 holes on 14-under 266 and win his sixth US PGA crown, the first since last year’s Texas Open some 16 months ago.
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Mickelson said he will take three weeks off and play all four FedEx Cup playoff events prior to the Ryder Cup.
