Golf’s Winning Weekend

I’ve always said the two biggest factors in what we do and how we perceive things are time and circumstance. And there couldn’t have been a more perfect example of that than this weekend’s PGA Championship. What has traditionally been the last major will be moving to May next season. So what better place to have your final time in this spot than St. Louis.

The Gateway to the West has always been heralded as a great baseball town. Some would argue they’re the best but that’s a discussion for another time. What they did do was show why this was the perfect place for a major. The galleries were stacked. They were loud. But overall, they were respectful. This might’ve been one of the best settings we’ve seen on Tour in a long time.

So with an incredible backdrop, the players did their part. They went for it shot after shot making charges up the leaderboard. There was Adam Scott re-introducing himself as a factor in a major. Defending champion Justin Thomas spent much of Sunday is position to pounce on a chance to go back to back. And, then there was Tiger Woods. You knew something special could happen when he didn’t hit a fairway on the front nine yet found himself within a shot of the lead.

But, when it was all said and done, Brooks Koepka held off Woods to capture his second major of the year. The win is enough to assure that he’ll be PGA Player of the Year. With all the talk of Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, quietly, Koepka has won three Majors the last two seasons.

What will make this special is the theater he won in. With Tiger Woods hitting dagger after dagger (until the 17th hole), With the gallery going nuts, Koepka calmly responded with birdies on 15 and 16. The response was what a champion does.

“I think other than me and my team, everybody was rooting for Tiger – and they should,” Koepka said. “It pushes you to step up your game. You have to, because you know he’s right there if you fall.” – Koepka

Koepka locked the championship away with Pars on his last two holes. As he had done all day, Koepka accepted the Wanamaker Trophy with an air of coolness which only added to how special the day had been. A day that left every golf fan wanting for more.

 

Related Posts