ST. LOUIS -- Now Tiger Woods is back.
The 14-time major winner fired his lowest final round in a major, a six-under par-64, on Sunday to finish second at the PGA Championship -- and a career once seen as over might just have some magic left in it after all.
"He just kind of ho-hummed 64," said playing partner Gary Woodland. "The putter was awesome. He had a lot of putts that didn't go in as well -- 64 looked pretty easy, to be honest. Could have shot a lot (lower)."
From grinding out pars and turning horrible tee shots into unlikely birdies to deadly accuracy with approaches and putts, the 42-year-old star who hasn't won a major since the 2008 US Open turned back the clock.
Spectators responded with roars to rival anything the former world number one enjoyed in his prime.
"They were loud and they stayed around and it has been incredible," Woods said.
Woods said it has been a long time since he felt so good about a loss, finishing two strokes behind Brooks Koepka but serving notice he truly can contend for more major titles.
This from a man who hasn't won any event in five years and a year ago was uncertain if he would ever golf again.
"I had to go get it and I tried," Woods said. "I knew it was going to be a struggle to piece together a round and I did."
Now eight months into his comeback from spinal fusion surgery, the fist-pumping thrills and excitement are back, as is the sense he could move closer to the all-time record 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus.
"I didn't even know if I was going to play golf again," Woods said. "This has been a process. I didn't know when I was going to start and how many tournaments I was going to play, how well I was going to play. I didn't know what swing I was going to use either.
- Uncharted territory -
"I'm in uncharted territory. Because no one has ever had a fused spine hitting it like I'm hitting it. So I had to figure this out on my own and it has been really hard, a lot harder than people think."
Woods has gone 3,709 days since his most recent major win with more to come until his next chance at the 2019 Masters next April, the 43rd major since his last win.
With silence and loud cheers the soundtrack to his day, Woods lipped out on a seven-foot birdie putt on the opening hole but sank a four-footer to birdie the second and one half as long to birdie the par-3 third.
Poor drives kept Woods scrambling. He salvaged pars after finding a fairway bunker at four and right-side trees at the fifth, finally taking bogey at the par-3 sixth after finding a bunker.
An up-and-down from a bunker for birdie at the par-5 eighth was followed by an astonishing 176-yard 9-iron second shot from dirt near a cartpath to the ninth green and a 10-foot birdie putt, the crowd roaring with delight as he pumped his right fist.
"Honestly, I was just trying to get it past the hole so putting down," he said. "I had the most easy, basic, inside right putt that you could possibly have and I made it."
Woods finally found fairways on the back nine, but endured heartache at 11 when his 28-foot birdie putt hung on the edge of the cup, the ball refusing to fall until he tapped it in for par.
Woods missed a 20-foot birdie putt at 16 for a share of the lead and sent his tee shot at the par-5 17th plugged into a hazard on the way to a par.
He closed with a 20-foot birdie putt and walked off to cheers.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
ST. LOUIS -- Brooks Koepka, holding his nerve to fight off dramatic challenges from Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, won a thrilling back-nine battle Sunday to capture the 100th PGA Championship.
The 28-year-old two-time US Open champion sealed his third major title by firing a four-under-par 66 to finish 72 holes on 16-under 264, edging Woods by two strokes at Bellerive Country Club with Australia's Scott another shot adrift.
"To do this is truly incredible," Koepka said.
As Woods electrified spectators by displaying the form that made him a 14-time major champion, American rival Koepka stayed calm and persevered under intense pressure to claim the Wanamaker Trophy and a top prize of $1.98 million (1.73 million euros).
"I heard all the roars when Tiger made his run," Koepka said. "It was the first time Tiger has been in contention and I've been in contention at the same time, so the fans definitely let you know what he was doing.
"Scotty played unbelievably well and so did Tiger. They definitely made me question it there for a bit, for sure."
Koepka fired the lowest 72-hole score in tournament history, one shot under the old mark set by American David Toms in 2001 at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Deadlocked for the lead with Scott -- who began the back nine with three birdies in four holes -- and only one stroke ahead of Woods, Koepka sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th and a six-foot birdie putt at the par-3 16th then parred the last two holes to secure the victory.
"I missed putts on 14 and 15 and Brooks didn't and my momentum was gone," Scott said. "I'm definitely playing better and in the right direction and that's a positive."
Woods, who hasn't won a major title since the 2008 US Open and hasn't won any title in five years, proved he is a legitimate major title contender once again at age 42 with an epic 64, his low final round in a major, which he concluded with a 20-foot birdie putt at 18, the crowd roaring as he walked off.
"These fans were so positive all week," Woods said. "I can't thank them enough for what they were saying out there and what it meant to me coming back trying to win a major championship again."
- 'Mind-blowing' -
Koepka, who defended his US Open crown in June at Shinnecock, became only the fifth player to win the US Open and PGA Championship in the same year, joining Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan.
And it came in a season where he missed the Masters with a left wrist injury.
"Going from that to even being able to play this year to this, it's absolutely mind blowing," Koepka said.
In his eighth month of a comeback season after spinal fusion surgery, Woods ground out four birdies against a lone bogey on both the front and back nines but could never draw level with Koepka, settling for his seventh career major runner-up finish.
"I played hard," Woods said. "Bit of a struggle with my game. I was hanging in there, grinding it out trying to make as many birdies as possible."
Crowds cheered the veteran through a thrilling round that saw him miss every front-nine fairway but take only 10 putts, scrambling from dirt, trees and bunkers to stay in the hunt.
Woods, who said he wants to be chosen as a captain's pick for the US Ryder Cup team, was pleased he was able to contend at the PGA and lead in the last round of last month's British Open.
"I would never have forseen that a year ago," Woods said.
The impact was dramatic for rivals as well.
"The roars were pretty unbelievable," second-ranked 2017 PGA winner Justin Thomas said. "Any birdie he made everyone went nuts. This was the first real Tiger effect I've experienced with that many people."
Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, missed a short birdie putt at the par-5 17th and made bogey 18 to finish third but was pleased with his overall effort.
"I was feeling really good out there, especially as he back nine got going," Scott said. "I didn't play the last two holes very well."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
ST. LOUIS - Brooks Koepka had his rivals on the ropes but could not deliver a knockout punch and had his lead whittled to two strokes over Adam Scott after the third round at the PGA Championship on Saturday.
The quiet American looked set to match the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history when he bolted five shots clear after 13 holes from a large group including Tiger Woods at Bellerive.
But a couple of loose swings led to consecutive bogeys and suddenly it was game on, a four-under-par 66 not exactly what Koepka had in mind a couple of hours earlier at Bellerive.
A 12-under 198 total still left Koepka within sight of his third major title in 14 months, but the two-times U.S. Open champion's grip on the Wanamaker Trophy had loosened.
Australian Scott produced a ball-striking round of impeccable quality, a 65 the best score of the afternoon, marred only by a couple of missed putts, including a seven-footer at the last.
A former world number one and the 2013 Masters winner, Scott muscled his way into second place on 10-under, while Spaniard Jon Rahm (66) and Americans Rickie Fowler (69) and Gary Woodland (71) were three behind.
Woods, whose earlier charge on the easier front nine raised the massive gallery's excitement to fever pitch, was among a logjam of six trailing by four shots.
He parred every hole on the back nine and his 66 matched his lowest round in a major this year, but he was a little disappointed, not least with a three-putt at the par-five 17th.
"It could have been a little bit closer but I've got a shot going into tomorrow," he said.
Earlier, Koepka brought Bellerive to its proverbial knees with five birdies in an outward half of 30 strokes.
And he made it look ever so easy, bludgeoning his drives massive distances and honing in on the pins with unerring accuracy.
He holed only one lengthy putt, the other four birdies coming from tap-in range, or close to it.
Koepka seemed an unlikely candidate to falter, but falter he did.
A bogey at the 14th, where he found a greenside bunker, ended a run of 43 holes without a dropped shot, and he promptly bogeyed the next too after his drive ended behind a tree, from where he took a penalty drop.
Those errors brought Woods back into contention.
Ten years removed from his 14th and most recent major title, he displayed shades of his pre-back surgery greatness with a near-flawless front nine on the rain-soaked layout.
Taking advantage of the marshmallow-soft greens, he hit a series of precise approach shots and converted with the putter to plunder five birdies.
Only a three-putt bogey at the fifth hole halted his progress, though he put the setback quickly behind him to birdie the next three holes.
WEATHER DELAYS
Woods was among 77 players who returned early on Saturday to complete the weather-delayed second round.
Woodland was not among them, having finished his round on Friday morning.
His 10-under-par 130 score matched the lowest halfway total in major championship history, and he enjoyed a one-shot halfway lead over Kevin Kisner, and a two-shot cushion over Koepka.
(Additional reporting by Steve Keating; Editing by Ed Osmond, Neville Dalton, Ian Ransom)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
