PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka says that the frenzied support for Tiger Woods helped push him to victory in yesterday’s final round at Bellerive.
Koepka, 28, held off Woods to win by two shots and become just the fifth player to win the US Open and PGA Championship in the same year.
“I think, other than me, my team, everybody was rooting for Tiger! I mean, as they should — he’s the greatest player to ever play the game, and to have the comeback that he’s having is incredible,” said Koepka, who birdied two of his last four holes to close with a 66 to Woods’ 64.
“You look at the British Open, when he finally got that lead, how energetic that crowd was. And then when he started making that run, it brought me back to when I was a kid and when I was watching him and you heard those roars,” he added
Koepka’s 16-under-par 264 total set a new championship record.
“Being a part of that as a fan is cool, and even when you’re playing, it’s still pretty neat. It kind of pushes you to step up your game. I mean, you have to because you know he’s right there if you fall,” said Keopka, who took his Major tally to three in his 100th start on the PGA Tour.
Woods, who was chasing his 15th Major and first since the 2008 US Open, was full of praise for Koepka.
“He went out there and made a bunch of birdies. As I said, he’s a tough guy to beat when he’s hitting it 340 in the air. He put it all together … he didn’t just have the driving, he had the iron game, he had the putting. And made some key up-and-downs the last couple rounds I saw to keep himself in the tournament and then ended up winning the tournament,” said Woods.
This was Woods’ 31st runner-up finish on the PGA Tour and eighth in a Major championship.
