Brooks Koepka masters Oak Hill to win 2023 PGA Championship for 5th major title

For those of you who can reach back into your memory bank, you’ll recall that it was at the 16th hole on Oak Hill Country Club’s East Course where Curtis Strange made the birdie that ultimately delivered to him the U.S. Open championship in 1989.

Sunday afternoon, what happened at the par-4 16th - a solid but not overly difficult hole in comparison to some of the others - altered the course of the tournament, and this time Brooks Koepka was the fortunate beneficiary.

Koepka stood on that tee with a one-shot lead on Viktor Hovland and he watched as Hovland hit his tee shot into the bunker off the right side. OK, no problem thought Koepka, and Hovland may very well have thought the same thing.

However, what happened next was really a problem for the 25-year-old who was trying to become the first Norwegian to win a men’s major championship.

On Saturday, Corey Conners was cruising along in the lead when he drove into this same bunker. He tried to get out with a 9-iron but topped the shot right into the grass face where it embedded, and it led to a crushing double bogey which handed Koepka the overnight lead.

Incredibly on Sunday, Hovland, one shot out of the lead, did the exact same thing from basically the exact same spot. It was as if CBS was showing an instant replay, but you switched out Conners in his black pants for Hovland in his Oklahoma State orange.

All Hovland could do was take the free drop and chip back into the fairway to play his fourth shot. He eventually two-putted for a double bogey, and when Koepka stuffed his approach to five feet and made the birdie.

Just like that, in a momentous 10-minute span of time, Koepka was ahead by four shots, and when he finished off with a harmless bogey at 17 and a par at 18 to cap a 67, he was the proud owner of a fifth major championship and his first since the 2019 PGA.

His 9-under-par total of 271 was one-shot off the East Course major tournament record of 10-under 270 set by Jason Dufner when he won the 2013 PGA.

Hovland made a birdie at the last to finish off a 68 for a 7-under total of 273. That tied for second with Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 2 player who lurked all day but could never overtake Koepka. He birdied the 18th to close out a 65 - tied for the low round of the tournament.

Oh, and there was this guy named Michael Block. If you’ve never heard of him, you aren’t alone.

But this week, he became a superstar and was trending worldwide for his performance as he finished tied for 15th as a club professional. And he capped his storybook tournament with a hole-in-one at the 15th hole Sunday, playing alongside Rory McIlroy.

He finished 1-over 271, tied for 15th, which means he’s automatically exempt to play in next year’s PGA Championship.

Full leaderboard: PGA Championship scores at Oak Hill

Michael Block makes a hole in one at 15

The club pro from California may end up being the bigger story of this tournament than the man who actually wins.

Block, playing with Rory McIlroy, just made a hole in one at the 15th hole, the ball flying straight into the cup on the fly. The crowd down there, as you might imagine, went nuts, and McIlroy gave him a big hug.

Block’s shot actually damaged the cup and there may be a slight delay to fix it.

That shot gets him back even for the tournament.

'Rory, did it go in?': Michael Block makes hole-in-one at PGA Championship

Brooks Koepka extends lead back to two

Koepka has been on a rollercoaster since he made the turn. He made a six-footer at No. 10 for birdie, but then made a bogey at the par-3 11th. That, however, may turn out to be a critical point in his round.

He drove into the left front bunker and his ball was buried right up against the grass face. Somehow, he was able to extricate it straight up and onto the green within 12 feet of the hole. He missed the putt, but that could have been far worse.

He then stuck a wedge into 10 feet at No. 12 and rolled that in for a birdie to get to 8-under, and when Viktor Hovland made his third straight par on the back side, he remained two strokes back.

Leaders have made the turn; Koepka leads by one

After back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 6 and 7 cut his three-shot lead over Viktor Hovland to one, Brooks Koepka has steadied himself with two pars at 8 and 9 and just as it was as the start of the day, he has a one-shot lead with nine holes to go.

Hovland made a bogey at 7 as well and has matched Koepka’s last two pars, doing so at No. 9 with an excellent chip downhill from behind the green which stopped three feet past the hole for an easy par save.

Scottie Scheffler is lurking at three shots back after he made birdie at No. 10 and then two-putted for a routine par at 11. And Bryson DeChambeau is four back after he made a sloppy bogey at No. 10.

Sunday, the seventh hole has been diabolical

All week long the 505-yard par-4 sixth has been the hardest hole on the course, the carnage on the field seemingly endless. But Sunday, the 472-yard par-4 seventh was the hole that really hurt the players at the top of the leaderboard.

Brooks Koepka and Viktor Hovland, one stroke apart in the final twosome, both missed the green with their approach shots which led to a pair of bogeys. But they weren’t alone. Justin Rose, Corey Conners, Bryson DeChambeau, Victor Perez, Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy, Miro Perreri and Michael Block - all currently inside the top 20 - bogeyed it as well.

One player who didn’t bogey it was Scottie Scheffer. In fact he made birdie, then followed that with a birdie at No. 8 and all of the sudden, the world’s No. 2 player is 4-under and only three shots behind Koepka.

Brooks Koepka finds trouble at the sixth; lead down to one

The sixth hole tee was pushed up Sunday so now it’s “only” playing 481 yards. What hasn’t changed is that Allen’s Creek is still over there on the right side and while Koepka didn’t hit his tee shot in, it landed in a penalty area.

He was able to play his third from there, 191 yards away from the pin, and he hit a nice shot to get it onto the green. However, he was unable to save par from 47 feet and made his first bogey.

That provided an opportunity for his playing partner, Viktor Hovland, to cut another shot off Koepka’s lead and he pounced. After a perfect drive, he pushed his approach into the bunker short right of the green, blasted out to 10 feet and made the putt to save his par. He now trails by just one.

Viktor Hovland closes gap on Koepka

Victor Hovland is trying to become the fourth European player to win the PGA Championship. Hovland weathered Koepka's fast start with three straight pars and then birdied No. 4 and No. 5. He's at 7-under, two shots behind Koepka.

Brooks Koepka birdies three of first four holes

We are still very early, but right now, Brooks Koepka could be on his way to a runaway. He has played flawless for four holes and has now birdied three in a row to stretch his lead to three stroke over Viktor Hovland. He's now 9-under-par. The all-time scoring record at the East Course in a major tournament is Jason Dufner's 10-under 270 at the 2013 PGA. That looks to be in serious jeopardy.

The 33-year-old Koepka, who hasn't won a major since 2019 but has four overall, parred No. 1, birded the par-4 No. 2 and then stuck his drive on No. 3, a 212-yard par-3, a few feet from the pin for another birdie. At the fourth, another approach in tight led to his third straight birdie.

Victor Perez has come out of nowhere

The Frenchman was sort of lurking after three rounds but after a par at the first, he has reeled off four straight birdies and all of the sudden he’s at 3-under, just three shots off Brooks Koepka’s lead.

Perez plays almost exclusively on the European Tour and has never been in contention at a major championship since he first started playing them in 2020.

He’s tied for fourth along with Justin Rose who birdied the first hole and then chipped in to save a par at No. 2. This is an early indication that Oak Hill is almost certainly going to surrender lower scores today. The conditions are absolutely perfect and if the players hit the ball in the fairway, they’re going to have great chances to score.

We could be in for some great action Sunday at Oak Hill

The weather is perfect for the final round, and with the course still a little soft from all the rain Saturday, the greens - while firm - will be receptive to shots and that could lead to some birdie chances when the lead groups get out there.

Early on, reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith has made some progress. He birdied Nos. 2, 3 and 4 and is now back to 1-over for the tournament as he plays the sixth. That’s only six shots out of the lead.

Adam Scott, who has been so up and down this week, is currently up. He is 4-under on his day through 13 holes, though that still leaves him well behind at 2-over for the tournament.

Sepp Straka is also out of the gate well with two birdies in his first three holes to get back to 1-over.

The struggle for Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship comes to an end

So much for Justin Thomas kickstarting his season with another big showing at the PGA Championship. The 2022 champion finished off his fourth round near the bottom of the leaderboard of those who made the cut.

Thomas posted a pedestrian 38 on the front thanks to a double on No. 6 as he pushed a drive and took a penalty. Although Thomas did rally on the back to finish the day with an even-par 70, he still finished 12 over for the championship, a far cry from the 5 under that led him to a victory at Southern Hills.

The highlight of the event for Thomas was knocking in a putt on the 18th hole during the second round that allowed him to survive the cut.

— Tim Schmitt, Golfweek 

Oak Hill was more difficult during Saturday's PGA Championship than any course in 21 years

Saturday’s rain and thick conditions wreaked havoc on players at Oak Hill for the third round of the PGA Championship. A total of just nine players posted a sub-par number on Saturday, marking the lost number of such rounds since 2002 at Hazeltine when only four players got under par.

Also, a total of 50 sub-par rounds have been carded through the first three rounds of play, which is the lowest number since the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, which was won by Padraig Harrington.

Oak Hill has often played difficult for majors — there were 79 sub-par rounds through three rounds in 2013, but only 29 through three rounds of the 2003 tournament.

— Tim Schmitt, Golfweek 

Golfers are on the course at Oak Hill

The early groups have teed off, including the pairing of Justin Thomas and Phi Mickelson. If you aren't on the course with the golfers, you can watch this morning's action on ESPN. CBS will take over the broadcast at 1 p.m.

Other PGA Championship 2023 content to check out

PGA Championship leaderboard entering Sunday

• 1. Brooks Koepka -6

• T2. Viktor Hovland -5

• T2. Corey Conners -5

• 4. Bryson DeChambeau -3

• T5. Justin Rose -2

• T5. Scottie Scheffler -2

• 7. Rory McIlroy -1

• T8. Justin Suh E

• T8. Michael Block E

Round 3 tee times at PGA Championship

Golfers will play in pairs on Sunday and everyone will start on the 1st tee. The tee times will begin at 7:50 p.m. with 10- or 20-minute interviews until 2:30 p.m.

• 7:50 a.m. − Ben Taylor, Mark Hubbard

• 8 a.m. − Joel Dahmen, Kazuki Higa

• 8:10 a.m. − Taylor Montgomery, Taylor Moore

• 8:20 a.m. − Justin Thomas, Phil Mickelson

• 8:30 a.m. − Rikuya Hoshino, Lee Hodges

• 8:40 a.m. − Sihwan Kim, Zach Johnson

• 8:50 a.m. − Padraig Harrington, Matt Wallace

• 9 a.m. − Adrian Meronk, Pablo Larrazabal

• 9:10 a.m. − Thomas Detry, Tony Finau

• 9:20 a.m. − Callum Tarren, Yannik Paul

• 9:30 a.m. − Max Homa, J.T. Poston

• 9:40 a.m. − Patrick Rodgers, Thriston Lawrence

• 9:50 a.m. − K.H Lee, Denny McCarthy

• 10:10 a.m. − Adam Hadwin, Adam Scott

• 10:20 a.m. − Sam Stevens, Nicolai Hojgaard

• 10:30 a.m. − Tom Hoge, Lucas Herbert

• 10:40 a.m. − Dean Burmester, Jon Rahm

• 10:50 a.m. − Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth

• 11 a.m. − Harold Varner III, Mito Pereira

• 11:10 a.m. − Collin Morikawa, Beau Hossler

• 11:20 a.m. − Xander Schauffele, Chez Reavie

• 11:30 a.m. − Alex Smalley, Thomas Pieters

• 11:40 am. − Keegan Bradley, Matt NeSmith

• 12 p.m. − Cam Smith, Hayden Buckley

• 12:10 p.m. − Tyrrell Hatton, Chris Kirk

• 12:20 p.m. − Keith Mitchell, Taylor Pendrith

• 12:30 p.m. − Adam Svensson, Sepp Straka

• 12:40 p.m. − Sahith Theegala, Patrick Cantlay

• 12:50 p.m. − Cam Davis, Hideki Matsuyama

• 1 p.m. − Kurt Kitayama, Ryan Fox

• 1:10 p.m. − Min Woo Lee, Patrick Reed

• 1:20 p.m. − Eric Cole, Shane Lowry

• 1:30 p.m. − Stephan Jaeger, Victor Perez

• 1:50 p.m. − Justin Suh, Tommy Fleetwood

• 2 p.m. − Rory McIlroy, Michael Block

• 2:10 p.m. − Justin Rose, Scottie Scheffler

• 2:20 p.m. − Corey Conners, Bryson DeChambeau

• 2:30 p.m. − Brooks Koepka, Viktor Hovland

PGA Championship 2023 at Oak Hill: The guide for fans

What to know about: Parking and getting there | Merchandise available | The weather | How to watch | Where the players stay | Other things to do in Rochester | Where to eat, drink | Sunday's preview

Round 3 coverage

More: PGA Championship cut line: Here's who made, missed the cut at Oak Hill

More: The 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill: Everything you need to know for Sunday

More: 'I can compete against these guys': Michael Block in contention at PGA Championship

More: PGA Championship Day 3: Top moments, leaders, Brooks Koepka in the right frame of mind

Round 2 coverage

Round 2 recap:Leaders, top moments, notable cut survivors

Round 2 live updates:Conners, Scheffler, Hovland tied for lead entering Saturday

PGA Championship cut line:Here's who made, missed the cut at Oak Hill

More:Rory McIlroy yells profanity at himself on hot mic at PGA Championship

More:His mom was once the face of the LPGA, now he's built a path to the PGA Championship

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Brooks Koepka gets masterful redemption to win 2023 PGA Championship