“Obviously I kind of lost it there at the end, but it was a long day and a lot of fun”. He addressed the ball again and drained his birdie putt for a three-stroke lead.
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And then you know he’s always been a good putter, he’s always been super long and those are pretty [good] things to be in golf, and when it all comes together as it did for him - and then his body held together, as he says he fought some injury issues - I guess I would say it was not a huge surprise, except for the fact that his form had been pretty, pretty poor up to this point. “It’s a very special moment to be able to celebrate on the 18th green”.
So after a pressure-packed par on the final hole gave Walker a one-stroke win over defending champion Jason Day on Sunday, he was somewhat surprised and plenty relieved.
The 37-year-old from Oklahoma took the Wanamaker Trophy and the top prize of $1.8 million (1.6 million euros) from a $10 million purse.
Walker’s victory also meant all four majors were won by first-time winners for the first time since 2011, when Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Bradley claimed the game’s biggest prizes.
South Africa’s Branden Grace shot 67 to finish at -9 alongside Brooks Koepka (70) of the U.S. and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (70), whose poor putting stroke kept him from challenging Walker.
When play was suspended on Saturday with the leaders never getting on the course, the decision was made to keep the same pairings throughout the third and fourth rounds, in order to speed up play and attempt to get the tournament finished Sunday – which unfolded better than could have been expected.
Geoff Shackelford: House, how about that PGA Championship?
In a most peculiar final day at a major, the PGA Championship allowed for preferred lies – that never happens in a major – because of almost 4 inches of rain during the week that drenched the Lower Course.
Day, who was looking to become the only player after Tiger Woods to win back-to-back titles since the US PGA became a strokeplay event in 1958, had bogeyed the first and third but bounced back with birdies on the fifth and ninth.
Walker’s final nine included three birdies starting with a bunker shot into the cup on No. 10, a 30-footer drained on No. 11 and a curling 8-foot putt on No. 17 that proved vital. Birdies on five, nine and eleven moved him back into the contest, before an excellent approach shot at eighteen was to conclude in an eagle to leave him thirteen-under par.
But Day sank a 14-foot eagle putt at the 18th to reach the clubhouse at 13 under with Walker on the 18th fairway.
“I think they all hurt, ” said Colin Swatton, Day’s long-time caddie and coach. “Jason is a true champion – eagle at 18, I would expect nothing less”.
Jimmy Walker goes wire-to-wire at the PGA Championship thanks to a timely hole-out from the sand.
Day began the week fighting fatigue and illness, having never played the 7,428-yard layout until a practice round on the eve of the event.
“That’s brutal sometimes when you know all you have to do is make a par, and I haven’t made a bogey all day”, Walker said. But I can’t be disappointed. “He’s a very deserving victor”.
British Open champion Henrik Stenson, trying to join Ben Hogan as the only players to win back-to-back majors at age 40, faded with a double bogey on the 15th hole.
Stenson, Martin Kaymer and Robert Streb finished tied seventh at 272 total.
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The top 70 players and ties qualified for the weekend, with 69 eventually finishing on one over par to let the likes of Rose, Ernie Els and Matt Fitzpatrick make the final two rounds.
