Koepka is a back-to-back champion in two majors and has been on a Tiger Woods-like roll. But as Tommy Fleetwood said, “It’s not over yet.”
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — It was supposed to be Rory McIlroy who was going to keep winning major golf championships in bunches. Then it appeared it might be Jordan Spieth, or Dustin Johnson, or Jason Day. Maybe it would be Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood or Justin Thomas.
But one of that gaggle was expected to ride the crest of a wave that would anoint golf’s next dominant major champion. Instead, at least for now, Brooks Koepka has stolen their kingdom.
The vanquished, however, have not given up the fight. Not by a long shot.
Or, as Fleetwood said late Sunday afternoon, “It’s not over yet.”
Despite a few late, tense moments, Koepka, who came into Sunday with a seven-shot lead, held on to win the P. G. A. Championship at the formidable Bethpage State Park Black Course. The defending P. G. A. champion, Koepka won for the fourth time in the last eight major championships he has played. Because he also won the United States Open in 2017 and 2018, he is the first man to simultaneously hold back-to-back titles in two majors. He will soon assume the top spot in the world golf rankings.
But Koepka’s most prominent challengers, though impressed with Koepka’s performance, were not bowing to his ascension.
Rose, who entered the tournament as the world’s second-ranked player, seemed to look forward to playing Koepka anywhere but the Black Course.
“This golf course was in his wheelhouse; it fit his skill set, and he’s obviously at the top of his game,” Rose said outside the scoring area Sunday afternoon after he finished tied for 29th. “If we had to play this golf course every tournament for the rest of time, I’d be concerned. But we don’t.”
Day, the 2015 P. G. A.winner, conceded that Koepka had dominated the majors the last two seasons but he denied that the rest of the field would be intimidated by his string of victories.
