PGA Championship 2023: Brooks Koepka wins with final round 67

It was all about the LIV defectors as Brooks Koepka held on to make up for last month’s heartbreak at Augusta to claim his fifth major championship.

Cameron Smith couldn’t help but laugh after shooting a stunning final round 65 to storm into the top 10 as fellow LIV star Brooks Koepka took out the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.

With Bryson DeChambeau also in the top 10, after three LIV players filled the top four at the Masters, Smith, the world No. 8, was asked whether it was a reminder the rebels were still world class despite playing less, in their no-cut, three round events on Greg Norman’s breakaway tour.

“I gave up on that narrative about six months ago, I think,” the Queenslander said with a laugh after finishing in a tie for ninth.

“I think there’s been a few guys that have been trying to kick it along a little bit.

“We’re still out there. We haven’t forgot how to play golf. We’re all great golfers out there, and we know what we can do, and I think that’s what we’re trying to do.”

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Koepka snared his fifth major with a stunning one-shot victory as Smith conceded a longer than usual break over the summer, during which he spent a lot of time in Australia, something he couldn’t do if he wasn’t with LIV, impacted his slow start to 2023.

With his eyes firmly on his British Open defence at Royal Liverpool in July, Smith was confident with how things were progressing.

“It‘s starting to feel really nice. I think a little bit too much time off with the golf clubs probably has, I guess, kind of delayed how I wanted to start the year. Now it’s starting to feel really nice,” he said.

“I’m starting to feel confident with those irons, which when I’m playing good golf, that’s where I feel like I’m at. If I’m in the fairway and I have an iron in my hand, I really feel like I can be competitive out there, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Cameron Smith stormed home to finish in the top 10. Picture: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images via AFP

Smith wasn’t the top Aussie, however, with Cam Davis securing his first top-five finish at a major championship, also finishing with a five-under 65 to finish at 3-under in a tie for fourth, having held the clubhouse lead for much of Sunday.

Davis said the result was validation that “I can do this” on a course most players conceded was one of the toughest they had confronted.

“Every time you have a really good round under tough conditions, it’s just another little positive voice in the back of your head that, yeah, I can do this even when it’s difficult,” he said.

Cameron Davis was the best-placed Aussie. Picture: Michael Reaves / Getty Images via AFP

“Even when the rough is really deep and the pins are tight and firming up quick, you can still play really good golf and make a score especially toward the end of a major. That’s where I want to be. I’d love to win one or more of these for sure.

“This is just one more step towards that goal for me, a lot of positive stuff.”

Min Woo Lee also secured playing status on the PGA Tour for the remainder of 2023 by finishing in a tie for 18th.

Of the other Australians to make the cut, Adam Scott finished in a tie for 29th and Lucas Herbert tied for 40th.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

271 – Brooks Koepka (USA) 72-66-66-67

273 – Scottie Scheffler (USA) 67-68-73-65, Viktor Hovland (NOR) 68-67-70-68

277 Cameron Davis (AUS) 71-70-71-65, Kurt Kitayama (USA) 70-71-71-65, Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 66-71-70-70

278 – Sepp Straka (AUT) 69-71-73-65, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71-69-69-69

279 – Justin Rose (ENG) 69-70-69-71, Cameron Smith (AUS) 72-72-70-65, Patrick Cantlay (USA) 74-67-72-66

280 – Corey Conners (CAN) 67-68-70-75, Victor Perez (FRA) 70-72-69-69