USPGA: Koepka wins, first for the LIV Tour

Four years after his double, followed by a long slump, Brooks Koepka won his third PGA Championship on Sunday in Rochester (New York), a return to the top that offers the LIV Tour, of which he is now a member, its first Grand Slam victory.

To discover

• The world ranking of the best golf players

Winner of the event in 2018 and 2019, the 33-year-old American joins his illustrious compatriots Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead among the triple winners. Only Tiger Woods (4), Jack Nicklaus (5th) and Walter Hagen (5) did better.

«

It's amazing to be alongside these prestigious names. To be honest, I'm not even sure I dreamed as a kid of winning so many times, but it's the coolest thing I can experience," he said hotly.

The former world No. 1 now has five Majors to his name, having also won the US Open in 2017 and 2018.

This time, he held firm in the final stretch. A month after faltering at the Masters of Augusta, in favor of the world No. 1 Jon Rahm finally winner, while he had turned in the lead at the end of the third round, Koepka learned the lesson at Oak Hill, finally bathing in the sun rather than the rain of the first three days.

Scheffler again N.1

Author of a solid card of 67 (-3), after seven birdies to his credit and three bogeys to his credit, he totaled -9 to finally beat by two strokes the Norwegian Viktor Hovland, who was aiming for a first major title, and Scottie Scheffler, looking for a second after the Masters of Augusta in 2022.

«

I fought well, but Brooks played fantastic golf this week and he played too well this weekend for me to catch him," said the American, who has indeed managed the best score of the day (65) and will console himself with the place of world No. 1 chipped from the Spaniard Jon Rahm.

«

It's crazy, when I think back to where I was more than two years ago. Everything that happened... I'm so happy there that I can't find the words," Koepka said upon receiving his trophy.

This success has indeed revived a career damaged by a hip injury and another even more serious knee, which required operations, keeping him away from the greens between 2020 and 2021.

In February that year, however, he tasted victory again at the Phoenix Open, while continuing to suffer on the courses of the North American PGA Tour, which he was one of the first to leave in June last year.

Boos

Like stars Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson, he was indeed one of the first to join the LIV Golf, financially supported by Saudi Arabia, whose emergence has since continued to fracture the hushed world of the little white ball.

As a symbol, probably very bitter for the taste of the ardent defenders of the North American circuit, it was necessary that it was at the PGA Championship, and not on the Masters of Augusta, the US Open or the British Open, that the dissident circuit jubilated to see one of its members bring him a first Grand Slam.

Moreover, if the golfers of the camp opposite did not lack fair play to greet the coronation of Koepka, the latter did not escape the boos of spectators, from the first tee already the day before to his triumphant march on the green of N.18 Sunday.

They were 18 members of the LIV engaged in this competition and until further notice, the duels with those of the PGA are not intended to stop in the context of the Majors, while the legal battle between the two parties is still raging.

Finally, on the French side, rather far from these considerations, Victor Perez confirmed his excellent dispositions, finishing in 12th place with a balanced total (0). His best performance in a Grand Slam, obviously encouraging for the future.