Suffice it to say, Rahm’s Thursday announcement changes the calculus on many, many things, some big and some small. That became evident within hours of Rahm’s appearance in his LIV bomber jacket on Fox News.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Rory McIlroy, who just a few weeks earlier confidently predicted Rahm was going to stay with the PGA Tour, explained he felt no ill will toward Rahm for leaving: “I’m going to miss competing against him week in and week out. He has got so much talent, he’s so tenacious and he’s a great teammate in the Ryder Cup. The thing that I’ve realised is that you can’t judge someone for making a decision that they feel is the best thing for them.’’

McIlroy’s reference to the Ryder Cup became even more notable when addressing whether Rahm’s defection to LIV would impact his ability to play for Europe in the future. Most LIV golfers from the continent dropped their DP World Tour membership, and thus were ineligible to compete at Marco Simone in September. At the time, McIlroy noted that the logistics made sense and that LIV players had to understand the possibility of being shut out of the team, going so far as to say: “They’re going to miss being here [Rome] more than we’re missing them.”

But with Rahm’s decision, McIlroy took a new posture. “Jon is going to be in Bethpage in 2025 so, because of this decision, the European Tour (DP World Tour) are going to have to rewrite the rules for the Ryder Cup eligibility,’’ McIlroy told Sky. “There’s absolutely no question about that … I certainly want Jon Rahm on the next Ryder Cup team.”

Rory McIlroy’s thoughts on Jon Rahm signing up to LIV pic.twitter.com/RsfkbFs7Mp

— Jamie Weir (@jamiecweir) December 8, 2023

The about face from McIlroy on the issue was something that was noted by commenters on social media.

Rory’s singing a different tune now that it’s Rahm. Didn’t hear this kind of chat from him about the others who joined LIV. “They are going to miss being here (Rome) more than we’re missing them.” https://t.co/PVhu0KowvU

— Tom English (@TEnglishSport) December 8, 2023

To which, McIlroy owned up to his changed viewpoint.

Rory’s singing a different tune now that it’s Rahm. Didn’t hear this kind of chat from him about the others who joined LIV. “They are going to miss being here (Rome) more than we’re missing them.” https://t.co/PVhu0KowvU

— Tom English (@TEnglishSport) December 8, 2023

Indeed, Rahm’s jump to LIV is going to change a lot of people’s thinking about a lot of things.

Image: Jamie Squire

The post Rory McIlroy says Ryder Cup rules need to change in wake of Jon Rahm’s jump to LIV Golf appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

17th Hole — Old Course, St. Andrews
In the opening round of the 2015 British Open, the field averaged a bogey (4.8) on the Road Hole. Not sure why. All the 450-yard par 4 requires is a tee shot over a railroad shed/hotel to a blind, dogleg-right fairway surrounded by heather, with an approach to a narrow green guarded by a bunker that’s harder to escape than most prisons and a stone wall lining the back of the hole that garners overrun balls. Nothing to it.

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18th Hole — Blue Monster Course, Doral
For years, the Blue Monster’s finishing holes lived up to its namesake. However, following a $250 million renovation to the course, the 18th has made players tremble in even greater fear. Specifically, a tightened fairway has correlated to an uptick in balls in the lake. During Thursday-Friday play at the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Championship, there were four birdies in 145 attempts against 69 bogey-or-higher scores.

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12th Hole — Augusta National
Many a green jacket dream has drowned in Rae’s Creek at Augusta National’s 12th hole, which Lloyd Mangrum once called “the meanest little par 3 in the world.” Swirling winds and the whirlpool effect wreak havoc, not only on players’ shots, but their mindset. Two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw blames the hole’s location on an old Indian burial ground. “Sometimes it comes down to superstition. When the wind comes up while the ball is in the air and knocks it into the water, the local caddies will say, ‘The spirits got it.’ “

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Fourth Hole — Bethpage Black
How can this 517-yard par 5 at Bethpage Black — one of the hardest layouts in America — be the course’s second-handicapped hole? For one, add 100 yards to that distance, because the hole makes a severe track uphill. The view from the tee will make the most courageous individual seek shelter– go left, you’re in a cavernous bunker; right, in thick rough. Traversing up the hill requires a long shot over a deep wall of sand, with the green surrounded by, you guessed it, more beach.

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17th Hole — TPC Sawgrass
“It’s like having a 3 o’clock appointment for a root canal,” Mark Calcavecchia once said of the 17th at TPC Sawgrass. “You’re thinking about it all morning and you feel bad all day. You kind of know, sooner or later, you’ve got to get to it.”

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17th Hole — Ocean Course, Kiawah Island
In compiling Golf Digest’s 20 Toughest Golf Courses in America, one of our panellists said, “I think the 17th hole is the toughest par 3 in the world. If the wind blows, watch out.” Tipping out at 231 yards, the 17th will bring those of weak demeanours to their knees.

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Photo By: Stephen Szurlej

18th Hole — Carnoustie
Jean van de Velde. Enough said.

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13th Hole — Whistling Straits
Thanks to a strong Sunday gust at the 2015 PGA Championship, Bubba Watson overdrove the 409-yard hole. However, don’t let Bubba’s feat fool you: The hole known as “Cliff Hanger” is one of the most arduous challenges in championship golf. Anything less than an accurate tee shot will find the sand. Same sentiment applies to the approach, with shots off to the right falling towards Lake Michigan.

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First Hole — Oakmont Country Club
Hitting off the first tee is hard enough. When the opening hole is a 482-yard par 4 with eight bunkers off the fairway and two more by the green? It can be a downright dream-killer

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Photo By: Stephen Szurlej

Eighth Hole — Pebble Beach
The Pacific Ocean hugging the cliffs is breathtaking…until you put your tee in the ground, and in that case, the view becomes breathtaking in a different manner. A well-hit drive can overrun the fairway and into the drink, and the green, which runs front to back, is guarded by four traps. Forget making par; not losing a ball is the real goal.

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Photo By: Dom Furore

14th Hole — Coeur d’Alene Golf Resort
Fact: 80 percent of scary movies take place near a remote lake. Throw in a 218-yard shot to the floating island, along with a boat ride to the green, and we’re staying far away from this Idaho resort.

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Fifth Hole — Pine Valley
While many of Pine Valley Golf Club’s holes don’t leave much room for error, the par-3 fifth does not suffer fools. The 220-yard hole requires an uphill shot over water and bunkers to a narrow, sloped green. Bogey is your friend.

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Extreme 19th — Legend Golf & Safari
The longest par 3 in the world at 395 yards, a shot from the top of Hanglip Mountain takes close to 20 seconds to land at this South African course. Players have to take a helicopter to reach the tee. God forbid if you bring the wrong club.

The post The 13 most terrifying, frightening, fear-inducing holes in golf appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
John Daly will be in the field at Royal Portrush for the 2019 Open Championship. And he will traverse the venerable links on foot.

Daly, who was granted permission by the PGA of America to ride in a cart during the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black under the Americans with Disabilities Act, said on Saturday his request to ride at the Open was denied by the R&A.

“Quite disappointed they do not see it in the same way our PGA of America and PGA Tour sees it,” Daly wrote on social media. “Different continent different laws? As a proud Open champion, I know what the Open Championship represents and what a special tournament it is. I believe all who have earned the right to compete should be afforded that right to compete and give it their best shot.

“While I trust the R&A’s decision was made with good intentions, I could not disagree more with their conclusions.”

Daly wrote that a recent visit to an orthopaedic surgeon confirmed bi-compartmental degenerative arthritis in his right knee and that he will need a knee replacement.

“Before that time comes my plan is to give it a shot in two weeks at Portrush,” Daly said.

The 53-year-old’s use of a cart at Bethpage was somewhat controversial. While some believed Daly’s injury fell under disability rights, others deemed it an unnecessary sideshow. Daly was particularly upset about a jab from Tiger Woods on the subject, with the two-time major winner saying he wished Woods “had all the facts.”

“Might have been a different comment,” Daly said in response. “As well as the Golf Channel Wednesday morning, when they bashed me pretty good, and a few others [who criticized me].”

The R&A said all considerations were factored into the decision.

“The R&A believe that walking the course is an integral part of the Championship and is central to the tradition of links golf which is synonymous with the Open,” read a statement. “We must also ensure that, as far as possible, the challenge is the same for all players in the field.

“The terrain at Royal Portrush is not suited to buggies and indeed the club itself does not permit their use. We have a serious concern that some parts of the course, where there are severe slopes and swales, would be inaccessible.”

Daly’s knee problems sidelined him from the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie, although he was able to tee it up at Bellerive for the PGA Championship. He also withdrew from the U.S. Senior Open last year after his request for a cart under the ADA was denied. He regularly plays on the Champions Tour, which allows its players to use golf carts during competition. He has not walked in an official event since the European Tour’s Omega European Masters last fall.

Daly is in the tournament thanks to his 1995 Open triumph at St. Andrews. In 19 Open starts since his victory at the Old Course, he has made just six cuts and finished inside the top 25 once.

The post John Daly, upset his request to use cart at Open Championship was denied, plans to play Royal Portrush anyway appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Mike Stachura
We all know we’re not capable of doing anything remotely similar to what Brooks Koepka does, short of tying our shoes. But not only is Koepka comfortably ahead of the pack on the PGA Tour, he is so far removed from the average golfer that what he’s doing, or more precisely what we’re doing, might as well be a completely different activity.

How different? Data from Cobra Connect, a stat-tracking system powered by the Arccos Caddie GPS grip-based sensors, paints a slightly terrifying picture of how an average golfer might navigate Bethpage Black compared to how Koepka just did. One example from the data: Average golfers playing the best golf of their lives would hit more 3-wood second shots in the first four holes than Koepka hit for the entire week.

Through Cobra Connect’s database of average golfers, the Arccos Caddie sensors determined typical club distances for a 16-20 handicapper. We then compared those distances to how Koepka played the holes at Bethpage Black. (Of course, given Bethpage Black’s infamous sign warning of its “Extremely Difficult” conditions for only “Highly Skilled Golfers,” in reality our 16-20-handicapper would be strongly discouraged from playing the course at all, but let’s allow our fantasy to play out.) It’s also worth noting that these hypotheticals don’t include how inaccurately our average 16-20 hits every club in his bag. Given that the rough at Bethpage Black had reached close to five inches deep by the end of the week, it is also highly unlikely that most average golfers would even be able to reach the fairway most of the time, let alone hit clubs out of the rough anywhere near the distance they might hit them from a clean lie in the fairway.

J.D. Cuban
Koepka had a wedge into 9 of 18 greens on Sunday.

A USGA study once suggested that average golfers only hit the green from the rough 13 percent of the time. But that was data collected at a resort course, not major championship rough. It’s probably safe to say that the average chopper would never hit the green from the rough at any distance that required a full swing. Indeed, Cobra Connect’s data from Arccos shows that an Average Joe hits the green only a third of the time with only his 8- and 9-iron and his wedges, clubs he’d only be using on Bethpage Black’s two par 5s. Maybe.

In fact, according to the numbers, he would only hit the green on about one in four chances with his 6- and 7-irons, one in six chances with his 5-iron, one in eight chances with his 4-iron and just one in 10 chances with a 3-hybrid. And about that 3-wood? According to the numbers, the average golfer’s GIR percentage with that club, as they say, has no grade point average.

All of those missed greens (and the attendant tragic golf despair and perhaps some measure of physical injury) then would be compounded further by plenty of around-the-green misadventures and misplays. Arccos data suggests the average 15-handicap gets up and down less than one in five times. Furthering this ugliness would be all those 3-putts, which Arccos data suggests might happen on at least four holes a round, particularly at major championship speeds.

In reality and given the rough at Bethpage Black, it might even be fairly likely that a 15-handicap would double up on Koepka’s opening round 63 at the Black as it was set up for the PGA Championship—assuming he’d even finish the round at all. But let’s go best-case scenario. Here’s a look at the hole-by-hole, comparing the two-time PGA Championship winner’s best shots at Bethpage with an Average Joe playing the best he can possibly play, which as we’ve discussed is highly unlikely. Short strokes: Koepka is walking up his driveway, we’re climbing Everest.

Hole-by-hole breakdown (Koepka yardages from final round)

1st hole, par 4, 430 yards
Koepka: Driver, half-lob wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood

2nd hole, par 4, 389 yards
Koepka: 4-iron, gap wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 6-iron

3rd hole, par 3, 230 yards
Koepka: 4-iron
Average Joe: Driver

4th hole, par 5, 517 yards
Koepka: 3-wood, 8-iron
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, gap wedge

5th hole, par 4, 478 yards
Koepka: Driver, gap wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, lob wedge

6th hole, par 4, 408 yards
Koepka: Driver, lob wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 6-iron

7th hole, par 4, 524 yards
Koepka: Driver, pitching wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, pitching wedge

8th hole, par 3, 210 yards
Koepka: 8-iron
Average Joe: 3-wood

9th hole, par 4, 460 yards
Koepka: Driver, 6-iron
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, half-lob wedge

10th hole, par 4, 502 yards
Koepka: Driver, gap wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, lob wedge

11th hole, par 4, 435 yards
Koepka: Driver, pitching wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood

12th hole, par 4, 515 yards
Koepka: Driver, 5-iron
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, sand wedge

13th hole, par 5, 608 yards
Koepka: Driver, 6-iron, 8-iron [layed up]
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, 3-hybrid

14th hole, par 3, 161 yards
Koepka: 8-iron
Average Joe: 6-iron

15th hole, par 4, 484 yards
Koepka: Driver, gap wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, lob wedge

16th hole, par 4, 490 yards
Koepka: Driver, 7-iron
Average Joe: Driver, 3-wood, lob wedge

17th hole, par 3, 207 yards
Koepka: 6-iron
Average Joe: 3-wood

18th hole, par 4, 411 yards
Koepka: Driver, gap wedge
Average Joe: Driver, 3-hybrid

Cobra Connect Arccos average yardages for 16-20 handicapper
Driver: 235
3-wood: 203
3-hybrid: 192
4-iron: 174
5-iron: 171
6-iron: 165
7-iron: 155
8-iron: 145
9-iron: 134
PW: 118
GW: 105
SW: 93

Brooks Koepka yardages
Driver: 315
3-wood: 265
3-iron: 245
4-iron: 225
5-iron: 205
6-iron: 195
7-iron: 180
8-iron: 170
9-iron: 155
PW: 140
GW: 125
SW: 110
LW: 95

The post We used real data to determine what clubs a mid-handicap would hit at a major setup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Feinstein
Brooks Koepka got lucky on Sunday. The luck wasn’t in the fact that he hung on for dear life to win his second straight PGA Championship. It wasn’t in any of the 74 shots he needed to get around brutally difficult Bethpage Black three days after shooting 63 on the same course—albeit under strikingly different conditions. It wasn’t even in his ability to use the always rowdy (to put it politely) New York crowd to fuel him at the exact moment when he most needed a boost.

No, the luck was in this: He learned an important lesson on a long, gruelling day and, ultimately, didn’t have to pay a price for that lesson.

Athletes choke. Even the greats, in every sport, have moments they’d like to have back. You might have to go all the way back to college to find Michael Jordan’s choke moment—he was held to 13 points in his final college game by Indiana immortal Dan Dakich—but you’ll find it. That same year—1984— John McEnroe was up two sets and a service break against Ivan Lendl in the French Open final and collapsed. He never won a French title. Even Tiger Woods let a two-shot lead melt away in the 2009 PGA against Y.E. Yang. There’s also his Ryder Cup record.

It happens to the greats and to the non-greats. It could have happened to Koepka on Sunday.

Koepka had played near-perfect golf for 64 holes. When he birdied the difficult par-4 10th hole Sunday afternoon to push what had started as a seven-stroke lead but dropped to five strokes back to six on his charging buddy Dustin Johnson, it appeared the only question left was going to be his final margin of victory.

But then the golf course, the gusty winds and the fact that, in spite of all appearances to the contrary, Koepke is human, very suddenly changed the narrative.

Koepka had made five bogeys in 64 holes as he walked to the 11th tee. Shockingly, he bogeyed the next four holes—including the par-5 13th where he hit his drive left-left, gouged his second shot to within 159 yards of the hole but still in the rough and then watched the wind push his third shot backwards so hard it wound up short of the green. From there, he needed three to get down and then, when a wind gust caught his 8-iron on the par-3 14th tee and he air-mailed the green, his lead was down to one for the first time since Friday morning.

Warren Little/Getty Images
The leaderboard got far closer than most figured it would on Sunday.

Johnson had just birdied the almost ludicrously tough 15th hole for the fourth straight day, a feat only a little bit shy of acing an ordinary par-3 four days in a row. DJ was three under par for the day; Koepka was three over. The math spoke for itself.

“I wasn’t nervous,” Koepka said later. “I was shocked.”

As he walked off the 14th green, Koepka heard the crowd chanting. “DJ, DJ!”

I say this as someone who grew up in New York: Few crowds in sports can be as graceless as those made up of people from my home town. Koepka, who’s from south Florida, wasn’t bothered by the chants. In fact, as great athletes tend to do, he used the chants to push himself back into the mindset that has driven almost his entire career.

“I think it helped me,” he said later. “I deserved it. I was half-choking it away.” He smiled. “I’m a sports fan. I know how New York crowds are.”

Koepka has talked often about having a chip on his shoulder and using it to his advantage, whether it was when he was overlooked coming out of college, playing the Challenge Tour in Europe or listening to Brandel Chamblee say he wasn’t quite in the same class as a player as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy or Johnson.

What bothered him the most, Koepka said in his post-victory press conference was Chamblee questioning his toughness during the lead-up to the Masters. “That really pissed me off,” Koepka said.

With the “DJ,” chants echoing in his ears, Koepka stepped up on the 15th tee and smashed a 350-yard drive straight down the middle. As he walked off the tee, he heard an Ooh coming from the nearby 16th green as he watched Johnson putt. He knew the lead was back to two. That meant if he didn’t make any more mistakes, Johnson would have to birdie the last two holes to catch him.

Koepka parred the two difficult par 4s—15 and 16—and by the time he bogeyed 17, Johnson had also bogeyed that hole, meaning he still had a two-shot cushion playing 18.

Bethpage Black was at its toughest on Sunday. Only 12 players broke par—10 with 69s; two with 68s. Johnson was the only player within shouting distance of Koepka at the start of the day to be in red numbers, finishing with a 69. He finished four shots ahead of the foursome that tied for third.

Koepka wobbled during that four-hole stretch, but he didn’t fold. He used the crowd to fuel him when he needed it and never let a big number show up on his scorecard on a day when most players had at least one.

It was, as he said, a very stressful day, but one that he came away from with a clear understanding that a big lead doesn’t mean a cakewalk to victory and that one of the signs of real greatness is hanging on when all you can do is hang on.

“I was glad there weren’t any more holes to play,” he said with a wide smile. Then he added: “That was probably the happiest I’ve ever been.”

It was the kind of happiness that comes when something isn’t easy—when something you thought might be easy turns out to be really difficult.

Golfers will tell you that one of the hardest things to do is sleep on a big lead on Saturday night because you know if something goes wrong and you don’t win, you will have to face up to the fact that you lost. That you—in all likelihood—choked. That possibility was staring Koepka right in the face as he crossed Round Swamp Road en route to the 15th tee from the 14th green shortly before 6 o’clock Sunday.

A little over an hour later, he was pumping his fist for joy after his five-foot-par putt on the 18th green found the hole and he had won his fourth major title in 23 months. No one in history—no one—has won their first four majors in a shorter period of time.

Christian Petersen/PGA of America
Koepka hugs caddie Ricky Elliott after closing out a harrowing round.

Three names will now dominate all the talk in the days leading to next month’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach: Phil Mickelson, who will be attempting for the sixth time to finish off a career Grand Slam, playing on a golf course where he has won five times; Tiger Woods, who won a U.S. Open at Pebble by 15 shots and will still be basking (deservedly) in the glow of his Masters win; and Koepka, who will be trying to win a third straight U.S. Open.

The last man to do that was Willie Anderson, the Scotsman. who completed his triple a mere 114 years ago in 1905. Chances are, Koepka won’t win at Pebble. After all, hot as he has been, he hasn’t yet won back-to-back majors. The last person to do that was Jordan Spieth in 2015, when he won the Masters and U.S. Open. Before him, it was Padraig Harrington in 2008, when he won the Open Championship and the PGA.

But it would be foolish to think Koepka can’t accomplish the feat. And, if he has a big lead on Sunday, he’ll have the hard-earned lesson he learned on Sunday at Bethpage, to lean on. Which, if possible, will make him an even tougher than he has already proven to be the last two years.

The post How Brooks Koepka won at Bethpage will only make him more difficult to beat in the future appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
At their best, New York fans are passionate and rowdy. At their worst, they’re boorish and unoriginal. Through three days at the PGA Championship, they mostly leaned toward the former. On Sunday, they spilt over into the latter.

Specifically when it came to the treatment of Brooks Koepka. As Koepka’s victory march took a turn to madness on Sunday evening, the Long Island gallery flipped on the 29-year-old. There were screams of “CHOKE!” in his direction, along with a number of vulgarities involving his girlfriend. Perhaps worst was a series of Dustin Johnson chants while Koepka was on way to making bogey at the 14th.

Those derisions backfired, as Koepka credited the jeers to keeping him focused down the stretch.

“I tell you what, the hour spent from No. 11 to 14 was interesting,” Koepka said in his victory press conference. “When they started chanting, ‘DJ’ on 14, it actually kind of helped, to be honest with you. I think it helped me kind of refocus and hit a good one down 15.”

However, one player didn’t take those words as kindly as Koepka. That would be Harold Varner III, who was in the final pairing with Koepka on Sunday.

“It’s a pretty crazy day. I thought it was pretty weird how they were telling Brooks to choke,” Varner said. “That’s not my cup of tea. I was pulling for him after that. I have a few choice words for that.”

Varner was specifically aghast at the reaction at the 14th. “I thought that was just, you know, just cheering for him to do bad, I just don’t get that,” Varner said.

Koepka was not the lone victim. Fans chirped in the middle of Johnson’s backswing at the 17th hole, which may have correlated to his poor tee shot.

“There was a lot of yells out there,” Johnson said. “I just, you know—you’ve just got to go with it. I made a bad swing.”

Varner also heard his share of grief, the byproduct of a round gone south. Varner’s 11-over 81 dropped him from T-2 to T-36.

“Obviously I heard some stuff today, which was awesome. I would have said the same thing if I was seeing some kid just shooting like that,” Varner said. “But it’s okay. I’m all right with it.”

Bethpage Black will next host the 2021 Northern Trust, with the 2024 Ryder Cup on tap.

The post Harold Varner III bashes fans who yelled at Brooks Koepka: “I have a few choice words for that” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

After three days of appearing impervious to pressure and unperturbed by the unforgiving tapestry that had beguiled his fellow competitors, the resolute and muscular golfer began unravelling like a $3 souvenir t-shirt. His only saving graces were a seven-shot lead he enjoyed at the start of the day and a late hiccup by his only challenger, World No. 1 (and good friend) Dustin Johnson.

In the end, Koepka had just enough cushion and certitude to hang on to successfully defend his PGA title and register the kind of historic result that had appeared a fait accompli when he opened the championship with an impeccable 63 on Thursday. It wasn’t the prettiest or most poetic performance in the final round, but his four-over 74 was adequate to deliver his fourth major victory in his last eight starts—an authoritative statement even if his finish was not.

“I don’t think I would have dreamed this,” said Koepka, who finished at eight-under 272, and with the wire-to-wire victory put an indelible mark on the game (not to mention everyone on notice) that he is the best player in the world, a distinction he holds unequivocally by surpassing Johnson as No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

“Phenomenal,” he said. “I think that’s a good word. Yeah, it’s been a hell of a run.”

Indeed, Koepka is on a roll with historic implications. Consider some of the iconic names with which he shares distinction.

With four wins in his last eight major starts, the 29-year-old joins Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan as the only men in the modern era to win four or more majors in a span of just eight starts.

“I mean, four of eight, I like the way that sounds,” he said with a wide smile.

Koepka became just the sixth player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to win a major championship in three consecutive years. The others are Nicklaus, Woods, Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson. What’s more, Koepka joined Nicklaus, Woods and Seve Ballesteros as the only players to have won two different major titles multiple times before age 30.

And just to throw around a few more classic names from the past, Koepka is only the fourth player to successfully defend a major championship title more than once. The others are Woods, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. How about that company?

Warren Little/Getty Images

Where Koepka stands alone is his distinction as the first man to hold back-to-back major titles concurrently, having also won the 2017 and ’18 U.S. Open. When he ventures to Pebble Beach Golf Links next month for the U.S. Open, he’ll attempt to equal Willie Anderson’s mark of three straight national titles, a record set 114 years ago.

“We can start talking about the next real dominant player, perhaps,” said former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.

That conversation had to be shelved briefly when Koepka bogeyed his fourth straight hole at the par-3 14th, and saw his lead over a charging Johnson dwindle to a stroke. Had he gone on to lose, Koepka would have surrendered the largest 54-hole lead in major-championship history.

“I was in shock,” he said. “I was shocked at what was happening. It was very, very stressful, the last hour and a half of that round.”

That’s when the boisterous New York crowd unintentionally spurred him on and at the same time his good friend Johnson declined to step through the door that Koepka was opening.

RELATED: DJ charges, stumbles, and suffers another major close call

Under leaden skies and with the heavy gusts adding yet more menace to the irascible Black Course—the field scoring average ballooned to 73.439 and the best round of the day was a mere two-under 68—Johnson stood three under par on the day and eight under overall after an 11-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th hole. As Koepka was cleaning up a mess on 14, chants of “D-J” were ringing in his ears.

The man who uses every perceived slight to his advantage liked it.

“It’s New York. What do you expect, when you’re half-choking it away?” he said with a wry grin. “I think I kind of deserved it. You’re going to rattle off four [bogeys] in a row and it looks like you’re going to lose it; I’ve been to sporting events in New York. I know how it goes.”

But the chants came at just the right time. Everything crystallised for him. “I think it actually helped. It was at a perfect time because I was just thinking, OK, all right. I’ve got everybody against me. Let’s go.”

J.D. Cuban

The threat ended rather meekly. Johnson, who scored his eighth top-five finish in a major and second straight runner-up, bogeyed 16 and 17 with wayward irons and settled for a one-under 69—the only player in the field to break par all four rounds. The first of those bogeys really hurt.

“Just the last three holes is what got me,” Johnson said. “Standing on 16 fairway, I’m at eight under, and hit two really good shots there on 16, and I still don’t know how my ball went over the green there. Obviously not a spot where you can go.”

Koepka, two groups behind, held it together just long enough, with pars on three of his last four holes. He won by two strokes and let out a huge sigh as he tightly hugged his caddie, Ricky Elliott. Koepka joined Nicklaus, Ray Floyd, Hal Sutton and Bobby Nichols as wire-to-wire PGA winners with the outright lead each day. He is the seventh back-to-back winner in the championship’s history.

“It was definitely a test,” Koepka said after winning his sixth PGA Tour title. “I never thought about failing. I was trying my butt off. If I would have bogeyed all the way in, you know, I still would have looked at it as I tried my hardest. That’s all I can do. Sometimes that’s all you’ve got.”

What he’s got right now is a dominant run that he hopes to extend when he ventures to Pebble Beach. On Saturday, Koepka claimed that his heart rate barely changed on the golf course compared to if he were just lounging on the sofa. Weathering the storm at Bethpage Black is only going to make the Florida fighter that much more difficult to beat.

Because he thoroughly embraced the hardship, the difficulty of the layout and the pressure that was ratcheting ever higher as he struggled.

“Today was definitely the most satisfying out of all of them for how stressful that round was; how stressful DJ made that,” he said. “I know for a fact, that was the most excited I’ve ever been in my life ever there on 18.

“It’s been so much fun these last, what is it, two years, it’s pretty close to two years. It’s incredible,” he added. “I don’t think I even thought I was going to do it that fast. I don’t think anybody did, and to be standing here today with four majors, it’s mind-blowing.”

And it’s blowing away the rest of golf.

The post Brooks Koepka withstands an unexpected Sunday test, making Bethpage win even more satisfying appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Mike O’Malley
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — All those stats about Brooks Koepka breaking scoring records on the way to another major-championship victory after opening with rounds of 63-65? Already in the trash bin. But he’ll take the stat that counts—major win No. 4—even though he put his antiperspirant through a punishing workout with four consecutive bogeys before finishing a final-round 74 for a two-stroke win over Dustin Johnson. Deep breaths, everyone. On to the stats:

1: Number of times Koepka has competed in a tour event at Pebble Beach, site of next month’s U.S. Open. He finished T-8 in the Pro-Am in 2016, shooting rounds of 68-70-69-70—277, seven strokes behind winner Vaughn Taylor. Koepka will be going for his fifth major win in his last nine appearances. Which is pretty good.

1: How many times do you make a 2 and aren’t even Low Lucas in your group? Lucas Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open winner at Bethpage, holed his bunker shot at the 17th, but only after Lucas Bjerregaard aced it with a 6-iron from 206 yards.

Lucas (the other Lucas in the group) Glover holing it from the BUNKER.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/nkcC0AphWl

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 19, 2019

HOLE-IN-ONE!! pic.twitter.com/tbKhaARtEv

— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 19, 2019

2: Dustin Johnson (final-round 69 on Sunday) now has achieved the Runner-Up Grand Slam:
2: 2019 PGA Ch., Bethpage (winner: Brooks Koepka)
T-2: 2011 Open Ch., Royal St. George’s (winner: Darren Clarke)
T-2: 2015 U.S. Open, Chambers Bay (winner: Jordan Spieth)
T-2: 2019 Masters (winner: Tiger Woods)

T-3: Finish at Bethpage by Jordan Spieth, who was attempting to complete the career Grand Slam but was six shots shy of Koepka after a final-round 71. It was still Spieth’s best performance of the 2018-’19 tour season.

4: With his four major win, Koepka ties Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Raymond Floyd, Bobby Locke, Jim Barnes, Willie Anderson, Willie Park Sr., Tom Morris Sr. and Tom Morris Jr. A fifth major win would tie Koepka with Phil Mickelson, Seve Ballesteros, Peter Thomson, Byron Nelson, J.H. Taylor and James Braid. Six major wins? He’d be shaking hands with Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo.

5: Swing in shots in three holes after Koepka bogeyed the first hole and Harold Varner birdied it to get within five strokes of the lead. After double bogeys by Varner at the third and fourth, and a birdie by Koepka at No. 4, Varner trailed by 10. Varner went on to shoot an 81 and finish T-36.

7: Koepka is really glad this record wasn’t matched on Sunday: In the 1978 PGA at Oakmont, John Mahaffey trailed Tom Watson by seven shots going into the final round, and Mahaffey shot a 66 before winning a playoff against Watson and Jerry Pate for the biggest final-round comeback in the championship’s history.

T-60: Low finish from a PGA club professional, by Rob Labritz after rounds of 75-69-74-72—290. Two other club pros made the cut: Ryan Vermeer was T-80 after rounds of 70-74-72-79—295, and Marty Jertson was 82nd after a finish of 72-69-79-79—299. It’s the second time Labritz has been low club professional at the PGA Championship, having first accomplished the feat in 2010.

12: Venues scheduled to host future PGA Championships:

2020: Harding Park
2021: Kiawah Island
2022: Trump National/Bedminster
2023: Oak Hill
2024: Valhalla
2025: To be announced
2026: Aronimink
2027: PGA Frisco
2028: Olympic Club
2029: Baltusrol
2030: To be announced
2031: Congressional
2032: To be announced
2033: To be announced
2034: PGA Frisco
Year to be determined: Southern Hills

76: Highest final-round score by a PGA winner. The highest score and others on the list:
76 (4 over), Vijay Singh, 2004, Whistling Straits
74 (4 over), Brooks Koepka, 2019, Bethpage
74 (3 over), Raymond Floyd, 1969, NCR C.C.
73 (3 over), Dave Stockton, 1970, Southern Hills
73 (1 over), Jack Nicklaus, 1971, PGA National

88: Rounds under par for the week at Bethpage (par 70). The most under-par scores in PGA Championship history: 214 (Bellerive, 2018, par 70); 194 (Riviera, 1995, par 71); 185 (Whistling Straits, 2015, par 72); 178 (Valhalla, 2014, par 71); 172 (Valhalla, 2000, par 72). The least number of under-par scores for 72 holes in a PGA: 13 (Firestone, 1960, par 70).

$1.98 million: First prize on Sunday, which is more than the entire field played for ($1.7 million) 25 years ago at Southern Hills. The winner in 1994, Nick Price, earned $310,000. Eighth place this year at Bethpage paid $319,600 from a total purse of $11 million. Being a very good professional golfer has its rewards.

The post A dozen stats that tell the story of Sunday at Bethpage appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — It pays to win the PGA Championship. Literally. PGA of America officials once again offered a total purse of $11 million for the entire 156-player field. And for the second straight year, Brooks Koepka walked off with $1.98 million in prize money.

Not a bad week’s work.

The PGA Championship payout ranks third highest among the four men’s major championships. At this year’s Masters, Augusta National officials increased the overall purse to $11.5 million with Tiger Woods earning $2.07 million. The U.S. Open purse jumped to $12 million in 2017, with the winner grabbing $2.16 million. In 2018, the Open Championship had a $10.5 million purse with the winner taking $1.89 million in earnings.

And the most lucrative purse on the PGA Tour? That distinction goes to the Players Championship, where a record $12.5 million was doled out, and Rory McIlroy secured a first-place cheque of $2.25 million.

With Koepka’s win, he has now jumped into the top 50 in all-time career earnings on the PGA Tour, moving to No. 46 with $26,563,929.

The evolution of the prize-money payout in the PGA Championship shows an interesting snap shot, too, at how slowly golf purses evolved over the years. Suffice it to say, when Tiger Woods entered the mix in the 1990s, it did much to help bring new fans (and new sponsors) to professional golf. The payouts from the PGA of America went up exponentially after his arrival in pro golf, as you can see from the information below. Here’s a look at what the payouts had been in the past.

Year: Winner’s Pay, Total Purse

1916: $500, $2,580 (first year of the event)
1931: $1,000, $7,200 (first year winner’s pay increased)
1953: $5,000, $20,700 (first year winner’s pay was $5K)
1958: $5,500, $39,388 (first year of stroke play, also the winner’s amount actually decreased that year)
1965: $25,000, $149,700
1978: $50,000, $300,240
1983: $100,000, $608,099
1988: $160,000, $1,000,000 (first year with a $1M total purse)
1993: $300,000, $1,702,750
1998: $540,000, $2,886,800
2000: $900,000, $5,031,100 (first year with a $5M total purse)
2003: $1,080,000, $5,938,300 (first year with $1M-plus to the winner)
2009: $1,350,000, $7,484,500
2014: $1,800,000, $9,913,000
2019: $1,980,000, $11,000,000

Meanwhile, here is a breakdown of the prize money payouts for each place in the field.

WIN: Brooks Koepka, -8, $1,980,000
2: Dustin Johnson, -6, $1,188,000
T-3: Jordan Spieth, -2, $575,500
T-3: Patrick Cantlay, -2, $575,500
T-3: Matt Wallace, -2, $575,500
6: Luke List, -1, $380,000
7: Sung Kang, E, $343,650
T-8: Gary Woodland, +1, $264,395
T-8: Matt Kuchar, +1, $264,395
T-8: Rory McIlroy, +1, $264,395
T-8: Shane Lowry, +1, $264,395
T-8: Erik Van Rooyen, +1, $264,395
T-8: Adam Scott, +1, $264,395
T-14: Chez Reavie, +2, $191,665
T-14: Jane Janewattananond, +2, $191,665
T-16: Brandt Snedeker, +3, $143,100
T-16: Mike Lorenzo-Vera, +3, $143,100
T-16: Abraham Ancer, +3, $143,100
T-16: Lucas Glover, +3, $143,100
T-16: Lucas Bjerregaard, +3, $143,100
T-16: Xander Schauffele, +3, $143,100
T-16: Hideki Matsuyama, +3, $143,100
T-23: Thomas Pieters, +4, $91,000
T-23: Jason Kokrak, +4, $91,000
T-23: Billy Horschel, +4, $91,000
T-23: Emiliano Grillo, +4, $91,000
T-23: Jason Day, +4, $91,000
T-23: Jimmy Walker, +4, $91,000
T-29: Paul Casey, +5, $65,000
T-29: Graeme McDowell, +5, $65,000
T-29: Keegan Bradley, +5, $65,000
T-29: Webb Simpson, +5, $65,000
T-29: Adam Hadwin, +5, $65,000
T-29: Justin Rose, +5, $65,000
T-29: Sam Burns, +5, $65,000
T-36: Beau Hossler, +6, $48,200
T-36: Haotong Li, +6, $48,200
T-36: Danny Lee, +6, $48,200
T-36: Rickie Fowler, +6, $48,200
T-36: Harold Varner III, +6, $48,200
T-41: Matt Fitzpatrick, +7, $36,035
T-41: Charles Howell III, +7, $36,035
T-41: Aaron Wise, +7, $36,035
T-41: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, +7, $36,035
T-41: Adam Long, +7, $36,035
T-41: Scott Piercy, +7, $36,035
T-41: Danny Willett, +7, $36,035
T-48: Henrik Stenson, +8, $25,750
T-48: Kelly Kraft, +8, $25,750
T-48: Bronson Burgoon, +8, $25,750
T-48: Francesco Molinari, +8, $25,750
T-48: Tyrrell Hatton, +8, $25,750
T-48: Tommy Fleetwood, +8, $25,750
T-54: Charley Hoffman, +9, $22,850
T-54: Justin Harding, +9, $22,850
T-54: Cameron Champ, +9, $22,850
T-54: Alex Noren, +9, $22,850
T-54: J.J. Spaun, +9, $22,850
T-54: Zach Johnson, +9, $22,850
T-60: Ross Fisher, +10, $21,300
T-60: Rob Labritz, +10, $21,300
T-60: J.T. Poston, +10, $21,300
T-60: Louis Oosthuizen, +10, $21,300
T-64: Max Homa, +11, $23,057
T-64: Joost Luiten, +11, $23,057
T-64: Corey Conners, +11, $23,057
T-64: Kirt Kitayama, +11, $23,057
T-64: Cameron Smith, +11, $23,057
T-64: Thorbjorn Olesen, +11, $23,057
T-64: Tony Finau, +11, $23,057
T-71: David Lipsky, +12, $19,250
T-71: Rafa Cabrera Bello, +12, $19,250
T-71: Lucas Herbert, +12, $19,250
T-71: Phil Mickelson, +12, $19,250
T-71: Daniel Berger, +12, $19,250
T-71: Joel Dahmen, +12, $19,250
77: Kevin Tway, +13, $18,900
T-78: Andrew Putnam, +14, $18,750
T-78: Pat Perez, +14, $18,750
T-80: Rich Beem, +15, $18,550
T-80: Ryan Vermeer, +15, $18,550
82: Marty Jertson, +19, $18,400

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