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Brooks Koepka edges out Viktor Hovland to win US PGA Championship
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Brooks Koepka edges out Viktor Hovland to win US PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka won the 2023 US PGA Championship after he was pushed all the way by Viktor Hovland at Oak Hill Country Club.

Koepka trophy

Norway's Hovland was right on the American's shoulder until a costly double bogey at the 16th meant it was Koepka who won his fifth Major Championship.

He finished nine under par, with Hovland left to share second place with Scottie Scheffler on seven under.

Koepka made birdies at the second, third and fourth holes to stretch his overnight lead, though Hovland matched the latter and picked up another shot at the fifth to keep himself within two strokes.

Koepka found trouble down the right on the sixth but while he was in discussions with the rules official, Hovland sent his second shot into a bunker and had to settle for par as Koepka escaped with a bogey.

Both players made bogeys at the next and then a pair of pars each to ensure Hovland turned for home one shot off the lead.

Koepka birdied the next to double his lead as Hovland’s 20-foot putt lipped out, but gave the shot back at the 11th after failing to get up and down from a bunker.

He holed from the fringe at the next to restore his two-stroke advantage but Hovland responded at the 13th before both players birdied the driveable par-four 14th.

After pars at the next, Hovland astonishingly produced an exact replica of Corey Conners’ shot the previous day which embedded into the face of the same fairway bunker on the 16th.

That cost him a double bogey while Koepka hit his approach shot close and holed out for a birdie and a four-stroke lead with two to play.

Koepka Hovland

Scheffler seemed to have faded out of contention with a 73 on Saturday but the World Number Two made five birdies in eight holes round the turn to get back to six under.

A closing birdie took him to seven under but Koepka could afford a bogey at the 17th, parring the last as Hovland holed a 16-foot birdie putt to earn a share of the runner-up spot.

It was Koepka's third US PGA Championship, having won in 2018 and 2019, and he said at the trophy presentation: “This is incredible.

"I’m just so happy right now, I’m kind of at a loss for words. This is just the coolest thing.

“To be with those names (winning five Majors) is incredible, I’m not even sure I dreamed of it as a kid. I’m just so happy to do it for these New York fans.”

Hovland said: "Played great. Wish I would have made a couple more putts earlier. Felt like I played really solid golf.

"I gave myself a lot of looks. When I was out of position, I made some great short game shots and got out of there with a par, but Brooks was hard to catch."

Scheffler shot a closing 65 as did Cameron Davis and Kurt Kitayama, to share fourth place with Bryson DeChambeau, and Sepp Straka who finished seventh alongside Rory McIlroy on two under.

Justin Rose finished in the top 10 at one under, with Shane Lowry and Victor Perez level par and Tyrrell Hatton one over alongside Michael Block, the PGA club professional who rounded off a sensational week with a hole in one at the 15th.

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