Brooks Koepka (33, USA), a “major hunter” who played on the PGA Tour, moved to the LIV Golf Invitational Series, which was launched with capital from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in June of last year, his colleagues and fans were aghast. did. This is because he won four out of eight wins on the tour in major tournaments and once ran for the top spot in the world rankings, but he was evaluated as having passed out.
In October 2019, he underwent surgery after a chronic patella injury in his left knee worsened. He seemed to be making a comeback by winning the Phoenix Open in February 2021, but again a month later, he was on the operating table due to dislocation of the patella and ligament damage in his right knee, and his performance plummeted afterwards.
Koepka, who came out of a long tunnel of sluggishness by sweeping the individual and team competitions at the 7th LIV Series in October last year, won the PGA Championship for the third time in a major tournament, winning a complete victory in a confrontation with ‘PGA players’.
In the 4th round of the tournament held at Oak Hill Country Club (par 70, 7380 yards) in Rochester, New York, USA on the 22nd, Koepka reduced 3 strokes by tying 7 birdies and 4 bogeys. Koepka, who recorded a final total of 9 under par 271 strokes, beat Scotty Scheffler (27, USA) and Victor Hovlan (25, Norway) by two strokes to achieve his ninth PGA Tour victory. The prize money is 3.15 million dollars (approximately 4.18 billion won). It is the first time in two years and three months that Koepka has won on the PGA Tour. In particular, Koepka won five majors alone, and among them, won three at the PGA Championship (2018, 2019, and 2023). His other two major wins came at the 2017 and 2018 US Open.
Koepka, who finished runner-up in the Major Masters last month, also set a record for the first major championship by a player in the LIV series with the win. After the game, Koepka said, “I’ve suffered a lot of physical pain in the past two years, but I’m happy to be here.”
As much as Koepka’s victory, the contestant who drew attention throughout this tournament was Michael Block (46, USA), a head pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, California, who was not a tour player. The PGA Championship distributes 20 of the 156 players to club pros in the United States. Block recorded an even par in the 1st to 3rd rounds and tied for 8th place, and in the final round, where he played in the same group as Rory McIlroy (34, Northern Ireland), who ranked 3rd in the world, he received applause for making a hole-in-one. In the 151-yard par 3 hole, a tee shot with a 7-iron did not even touch the flagpole and was sucked into the hole.
Block was tied for 15th place with a final total of 1 over par 281 strokes. Prior to this event, Jay Overton (USA) tied for 17th in 1988, which was the club professional’s best result. Block, who receives $150 for an hour of individual instruction, earned $288,333 (about 380 million won) in prize money in this competition.
He also secured the right to participate in next year’s PGA Championship, which is given to players within the 15th place in this tournament. In addition, the PGA Tour Charles Schwab Challenge, which opens in Fort Worth, Texas, USA on the 25th, and the Canada Open next month, will also be invited by sponsors.토토사이트
Block, who wrote the phrase ‘Why Not’ on his ball while participating in the competition, said, “It was a surreal experience and I have a strange feeling that life will not be the same as before, but it is still wonderful.” .