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Welcome to the coronation of Brooks Koepka. The 29-year-old American completed a remarkable effort at Bethpage Black on Sunday, winning the 2019 PGA Championship in a wire-to-wire fashion – the first to do so since 1983 – finishing each round as the club's leader. Reigning champion of the competition, Koepka won his second consecutive PGA Championship title and became the first golfer in history to hold consecutive titles at two different major leagues simultaneously, the other being the American Open.
That's not to say that Koepka's win was as easy as it seemed to be entering the final round of Sunday. Koepka led all of his opponents by seven strokes on lap four, which had already happened nine times after 54 holes in major since 1900. These nine all won, just like Koepka finally, but the champion saw his lead reduce to as little as one shot in the stretch following four straight bogeys on holes 11-14.
Dustin Johnson was hot on Koepka's heels but was simply unable to do the job after the last few holes, finishing 6-under after posting a score of 69 on Sunday. Koepka shot 74 of 4 to finish under 8 total for the tournament, playing his first round of the major championship against the peer since the Open 2018.
Let's see how the rankings looked at the conclusion of the 101st PGA Championship.
1. Brooks Koepka (-8): It was a great championship to support the argument that Sundays and weekends are overestimated. Koepka suffered 16 strokes of worst Saturday and Sunday Thursday and Friday. He broke his record of 128 out of the first 36 holes with a score of 144 on the last 36. There were some free kicks and a lot of approaching Sunday which made Bethpage Black bore his shots to Kopeka and rest of the group.
2. Dustin Johnson (-6): After starting the day with seven strokes on the head, DJ hopes that the work will be less positive to reduce the lead to just one of the last nine and create pressure on Koepka. He had one of the best rounds of the late afternoon groups, but he missed a few bogeys on the way down.
T3. Jordan Spieth (-2): This is the first Spieth top 10 in 10 months (Open Open 2018) and the first top 20 of the season. He worked hard to put his game back into shape, and Bethpage seemed to fit his style. You had to be a survivor to avoid too many bogeys and that's exactly where Spieth's head was. It will be interesting to see how he will save this performance next month at the American Open.
T3. Patrick Cantlay (-2): The 27-year-old has been in a different place since mid-2018. Cantlay has always had the pedigree, but the game has clicked among the majors – T12 at The Open, T9 at the Masters and three of the top 10 in WGC before that top five at Bethpage.
T3. Matt Wallace (-2): His previous major experience includes four missed cuts and a T19 at the PGA Championship last year. This week has clearly changed Wallace's career. Barely 29 years old, he was recently promoted to the European circuit over the past three years and could play a role in the progression of these championships.
6. Luke's List (-1): The wounds are there on the dashboard for the list. After three consecutive innings, List had five bogeys and a double bogey during his tough round of 74 Sunday afternoon. List is a pro for a while, but this arrival is an additional proof to play better, since the beginning of the 2017 season.
7. Sung Kang (E): Winner last week at Byron Nelson at AT & T, Kang now has his best result in a major championship in his sixth strong start. Kang tied the tournament record with a total of 23-under 261 at Trinity Forest and maintained his form this week with a good game on and around the putting green.
T8. Gary Woodland, Matt Kuchar, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Erik Van Rooyen and Adam Scott (+1): Rory McIlroy records his ninth top-10 of the season here with a pair of 69s this weekend. McIlroy, Lowry, Kuchar and Woodland all made jumps of 18 or more places in the standings to grab the Top 10 designation, thanks in part to the late-afternoon groups posting big numbers.
On Sunday, CBS Sports was with you to update this story with the latest scores, scans and highlights from the fourth round of the 101st PGA Championship. If you can not see the updates below, please click here.
Thank you for being past.
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