And after playing 36 holes Sunday in a sprint to complete the tournament after torrential rain storms wreaked havoc on both the course and the schedule, Walker’s name remained there.
Advertisement
Heading into last year’s PGA Championship, Day had recorded nine top-10s at the majors before he finally entered the winner’s circle. He closed with a 3-under 67 for a one-shot victory over defending champion Jason Day.
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. – This hurts, but it’s not the writhing, seething pain he felt a year ago at St. Andrews, where Jason Day wondered if it was ever going to happen for him in a major championship. Walker twice had to back off his 8-foot birdie putt on the 17th when he heard the crowd erupt after Day’s shot into the 18th.
He came back, he had a bad start on the second day as well, and I think did something similar in that he kept pushing and then when he had to do something special on the last, boy did he do that and it made for a tremendous finish. “Especially coming down the last hole”.
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 pitched to 30 feet from a lush lie and bore down over a two-putt that ended with a 3-footer for the trophy.
Walker made it to capture his first major and sixth PGA Tour victory, ending a long and wet week at Baltusrol.
“I was definitely thinking about that going up the 18th hole”, he said. It was an astonishing laser, the one moment in this championship where your phone started buzzing with text messages, the Twitter feed became one unanimous freakout, and we got a little “oh my goodness” from Jimmy Nantz. “But we got it”. So Day played one group ahead, hoping to apply his pressure from the front.
Ryan Moore (71) of Puyallup tied for 70th place at 3over.
Day, like Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth, no longer satisfies the public with top 10s – and doesn’t satisfy himself with top 10s. 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.
Grace once more was a contender in the PGA Championship, getting within one of the lead until a three-putt bogey stalled his momentum on the 16th, and he drove into the water on the 18th trying to take an aggressive angle for a shot at eagle.
Day, trying to join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners of the PGA Championship in stroke play, came out to the 18th green with his son to watch the finish and quickly found Walker.
Yet Day’s reaction on his way to the green on the final hole told the story of the competition. Desperate to beat the clock and avoid a second consecutive 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.
Aside from the champion, Daniel Summerhays seemed as happy as anyone at the end. This is the first time where I’m excited to play all four FedEx Cup events.
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 sank a stunning 45-foot chip from a greenside bunker to birdie the par-4 10th and reach 12 under.
Advertisement
Dustin Johnson is arguably the most talented player in the world these days, but that’s another case of Butch pushing him slightly to the next level and being there for reassurance and confidence. After Day’s eagle, he needed one.
