How Brooks Koepka got back to the top with PGA Championship triumph

For Brooks Koepka, this fifth major championship was the sweetest of the lot. After a period of time in which the American must have questioned whether he’d even swing a golf club again, Koepka has risen back to the top and earned his place among the legends of the sport with victory at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, New York. 

Only 19 other men in the history of the game of golf have won a quintuple of major titles – that is the elite company Koepka now keeps. He may be a player who divides opinion among fans of the sport, but you can’t argue that the 33-year-old is a modern great.

His two-shot triumph at the PGA Championship earned a first major title since winning the same tournament four years ago. In the time since, Koepka has undergone extensive knee surgery, as well as joining the controversial LIV Golf league. This triumph stands as a reward for his recovery and a justification for his decision to make the move to LIV. 

“This is incredible,” Koepka said. “I look back at where we were two years ago. I am just so happy right now, this is just the coolest thing. I don’t know how many guys have won five times, but to be with those groups of names is absolutely incredible and I’ll be honest I’m not even sure I dreamed of it as a kid.”

Koepka entered the final round with a slim lead, favourite in the sports bet market, and it would have been difficult for him not to think of the Masters last month, where he capitulated on day four to lose grip on the green jacket. There was to be no repeat of that collapse. Koepka went out and attacked the greens like he had all weekend, and despite the close attention of Viktor Hovland and a late charge from in-form Scottie Scheffler, it was destined to be for Koepka.

A final score of nine under-par demonstrates just how tough the course at Oak Hill was playing. This was a course that required pinpoint precision over 18 holes to simply earn par, and a single mistake could be the end of a player’s hopes in the championship. Hovland’s duffed bunker shot on the 16th hole in the final round cost him a chance at the title, with the Norwegian left to ponder what might have been.  

After an indifferent opening round, Koepka mastered Oak Hill, showing the course just the right level of respect whilst still chasing birdies on every corner. A pair of 66s and a 67 were exactly what the doctor ordered after a two-over-par first round, and that kind of consistency was going to be hard for any opponent to match at such a challenging venue.

When Koepka won the PGA Championship in 2019, it was his fourth major in three years, and many were tipping him for Tiger Woods-like dominance of the sport in the years to come. The American has faced some setbacks since then, but this latest triumph is proof that he is still the same champion at heart.