Walker edges Day by one shot at PGA Championship for first major

Walker was put under pressure by defending champion and good friend Day, who produced an eagle at the 18th to pull within a shot. “So I’m excited about where it’s going”.

That birdie putt looked like missing but the golf gods were on Walker’s side today and he finished with a simple three-foot putt on 18 to finish with a bogey-free round of 67. I felt like I played pretty decent the whole week and unfortunately it just was not good enough.

Walker was poised and in control during the fourth round, hitting 16 of 18 greens. He’ll make the team and with the confidence that comes with winning a major title, his calm demeanor and smart play should lead to more success.

The 37-year-old was met with hugs from his wife Erin Stiegemeier and his two sons, Mclain and Beckett and speaking after his round he shared his feelings on a momentous achievement. And then there was Royal Troon, where his 267 was topped only by Henrik Stenson’s 264 in British Open history. American Daniel Summerhays was third on 270, three strokes behind runner-up Day, with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, South African Brendan Grace and American Brooks Koepka sharing third on 271.

The golfer may not be a well-known figure off the course, but he is popular figure on the circuit. Players could clean mud off their balls in low-mown areas and replace them.

Jimmy Walker reacts after winning the PGA Championship golf tournament at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., Sunday, July 31, 2016.

Heading into last year’s PGA Championship, Day had recorded nine top-10s at the majors before he finally entered the winner’s circle. The No. 1 player in the world pumped his right fist twice. Groups kept their third-round pairings for the last round in another time-saving bid.

Then Day pushed it to the 18th, pulling a fantastic on the short par-5 before hitting, arguably one of the greatest 2-irons we have seen in recent years.

Walker holed out from a bunker on the 10th hole to get to 12-under par.

The celebration occurred after Day really turned up the heat on Walker, who was happy to end a long, tough day with some hardware.

But Walker’s hesitation was well-advised as his lobbed shot trickled into the hole for his first birdie of the round. Walker, addressing his birdie putt at 17, heard the roar of he crowd and backed off.

He said in the after math: ‘It is surreal, an incredible finish, ‘ before adding: ‘I made it a little more hard than I would have liked but I did it’. Nothing in golf comes easy. Three feet to his first major championship.

The top five on the roster now look fairly safe, but there still remains a very tight race in the points between spots six and 15 with just a few tournaments to play. “The last thing I said to him as he left the range [on Sunday] was, “Just go out and show them who Jimmy Walker is”. But I can’t be disappointed.

Walker said he saw USA captain Davis Love III this week and told him there was still time for him to play his way onto the team, or maybe even show Love enough form that he was worth of a pick.

“There was nothing easy about the day – really about the week, for that matter”, Walker said, according to ESPN.

“Ended up having to make a little, you know, tester coming in and just buried it”.

“The two-iron into the green was probably one of the best two-irons I’ve ever hit into a par-five, especially under the circumstances”, Day told reporters.