He never felt more nerves over such a short putt, but there was never a doubt.
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Walker said he and his long time caddie Andy Sanders, who he met at Baltusrol when both were playing in the 2000 US Amateur, chose to go for the green as dictated by the distance and the good lie.
This year, though, squeezed into the men’s tournament schedule as it was between The Open and the looming Olympics, and at the mercy of Mother Nature, “Glory’s Last Shot” seemed doomed to go down as one of the least remarkable major finales in recent history.
“Sometimes it’s hard”, noted astro-imager Jimmy Walker was saying after the first round of the 98th PGA Championship. “And to get that eagle on the last hole, the percentage is slim and none and he did it. [Coming out on the green to congratulate Walker], that was wonderful sportsmanship”.
“It was incredible”, he said.
Top spot on the world rankings changed hands with alarming regularity towards the end of 2015 as Day, Spieth and Rory McIlroy battled for supremacy.
Viewers of the final round of the PGA Championship were ready for caffeine IVs before Jimmy Walker and Jason Day infused some excitement into the lifeless proceedings.
The 37 year old scored a birdie on the next to last hole and ended 14 under 266 (65-66-68-67), a stroke ahead of Australia Day (68-65-67-67), who nearly caught up with him with a prodigious eagle on the last hole of the match.
Day struggled early in his round, bogeying the first and third hole to fall three shots behind Walker, who made nine straight pars to start.
He had won five times on tour and made a ton of money but ask Darren Clark, Tom Kite, Tom Lehman, David Duval, Davis Love, and Paul Azinger what their lone major championship means to them.
Walker went from No. 29 in the USA standings all the way up to No. 4 because of the double points at a major.
Walker played the final 28 holes without a bogey. The rains did come but the lightning stayed away so the leaders were able to finish 36 soggy holes.
That Walker has finally joined golf’s most exclusive club will come as no surprise to the game’s more observant insiders. The final birdie on the 17th was the most important because he had a cushion.
It slipped in the edge of the cup for birdie, and Walker had the cushion he needed.
“It was a long day”.
“I’m looking forward to it”, Walker said. “I think that’s what golf is”. Day holed the putt, and Walker heard the roar.
“One guy this week was better than me”, Day said. It was nice to get the eagle, just to try and make Jimmy think about it, but obviously Jimmy just played too good all day. The No. 1 player in the world pumped his right fist twice. Summerhays finished solo third at the PGA Championship, jumping up from 43rd to 20th and opening the window for automatic qualification if he can post a few more solid finishes. The fact that this year brought four first-time major winners (Willet, DJ, Stenson, and Walker) and he wasn’t one of them is astonishing.
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From the middle of the fairway on the par 5 18th, Day hit towering 2-iron.
