Walker was one of the many golfers to not play on Saturday due to the threat of storms, before returning on Sunday morning to card a 68 and go one ahead of Jason Day before the final round on the same day.
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“Jimmy just does everything really well”, said renowned swing coach Pete Cowen, who works with British Open champion Henrik Stenson, who finished here at Baltusrol in a tie for seventh.
Though Walker felt some improvement last week at the Canadian Open, he’d struggled much of the year, particularly in the majors.
The top-ranked Australian won his first career major at last year’s PGA Championship, claiming a three-shot victory over Jordan Spieth at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis.
“I was definitely thinking about that going up the 18th hole”, he said. “It’s nice to get in the position and keep the hammer down and keep making birdies and playing well”.
But the 2016 PGA Championship will go down as Walker’s story, from start to finish.
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.
“It’s surreal”, said Walker, whose 67 put him at 14-under-par 266.
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. “I’m having a hard time putting words to it now”, Walker told Sky Sports.
He said he misread his birdie try from 13 feet, six inches on the 17th hole, which never had a chance, and admitted he didn’t hit enough fairways and accurate approach shots midway through the back nine.
“Makes me feel awesome that the young crew likes to hang out and have a good time”, Walker said. “I know exactly how Jimmy feels, because I did exactly that previous year”.
“It’s really quite fun to see how far you can actually push yourself mentally, more so than physically”. ‘Henrik, he’s been around forever, FedEx Cup champion, won a lot of golf tournaments, great player.
Walker’s success did not come easy, earning his first of five PGA Tour victories before today in 2014 at age 35. Walker missed cuts at the U.S. Open and Open Championship, and tied for 29th at the Masters, so his recent major resume didn’t necessarily precede him.
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. (AP) – Jimmy Walker had champagne in his glass and the Wanamaker Trophy at his side.
Walker joined Masters victor Danny Willett of England, British Open champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden and fellow American Dustin Johnson, the US Open victor, as the first foursome of first-time major winners in the same year since 2011.
Walker climbs from No.29 to No.4 in the Ryder Cup standings, basically guaranteeing him a spot on the 12-man US team for the showdown against Europe, which is two months away.
Last year’s victor at Whistling Straights wasn’t about to hand over the Wanamaker Trophy on a silver platter.
There was never a doubt, and the 37-year-old calmly pumped his fist twice. Desperate to beat the clock, they sent the third-round pairings right back out for the final round, meaning Walker was playing the third round as others were playing the final round. As Walker reached the 18th tee box, he knew that all he had to do was par the hole and he would be the newest major champion. It was a battle all day.
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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.
