American Jimmy Walker won his first major with a one-shot victory at the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol. When we think of this tournament in 10 years, we’ll think of the excitement Day created at the end.
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Nobody was watching Walker’s last putt more closely than Day.
Walker was standing over an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th hole Sunday when he heard a roar that caused him to twice back off the putt. A birdie at 17 gave him a three-shot lead.
“Some stuff kind of clicked last week, literally in the last like nine holes”, Walker said.
Late bursts from Branden Grace and Daniel Summerhays were in vain while Open champion Henrik Stenson seemed to run out of steam coming down the stretch and while everything seemingly went swimmingly throughout for Walker, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama was left to reflect on what might have been. Dustin Johnson finished just 4-under at the U.S. Open in his win, and he won by three shots. He then lifted the 37-pound, crystal, Wanamaker trophy at the end of a grueling and tense day of golf.
“I didn’t say this, but I figured, 19 times out of 20, you’re going to make a five going for the green from right there”. “Sometimes pars are hard but we got that one”.
It took until the 72nd hole for the 98th PGA Championship to finally take off.
Walker led by one stroke after the morning third round and opened the afternoon final round with nine pars to make the turn at 11 under, one ahead of Day and British Open victor Henrik Stenson of Sweden. He addressed the ball again and drained his birdie putt for a three-stroke lead.
“It was nice to get the eagle, just to try and make Jimmy think about it”, Day said. Desperate to beat the clock and avoid a second straight Monday finish at Baltusrol, the pairings stayed the same for the final round.
But it ended on a happy note for Walker. That’s the first time in a major tournament the preferred lie rules was put in effect.
– Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016: The top eight will be finalized at the conclusion of The Barclays, which is scheduled to finish on this date, as opposed to the traditional closing of points at the conclusion of the PGA Championship, which will be played in July instead of August in 2016 due to the Olympics.
That showed a lot of class and, after making par on all of the front nine in his final round, he played beautifully – particularly at 10, where he chipped in from a bunker, and 11, where he sank a 30ft birdie. As he looked up to the big screen, once Jimmy Walker holed a birdie at 17 to solidify his lead and nearly guarantee his maiden major win. And thanks to Day, he needed it.
The tournament had been plagued with four inches of rain that had caused one day to be canceled.
Sure, Henrik Stenson destroyed old man par at the British Open, but in the other three majors, par for the course was pretty good.
Brooks Koepka, playing for the first time since he pulled out of the Bridgestone Invitational one month ago because of an ankle injury, didn’t make a birdie until the 15th hole and closed with a 70 to tie for fourth.
“I felt confident in myself”. As soon as I hit it, it felt flawless. In fact, it is the first season since 2011 that all four of the year’s majors have been claimed by first-time winners. To do so, Jimmy defeated defending champion and #1 world player Jason Day by one stroke.
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Thanks to Walker holding his nerves, it just wasn’t enough. Then on 18, Day made a superb approach shot to create the eagle chance which gave him hope of a playoff.
