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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- From the scoreboard to the trainers' room, the San Jose Sharks were bruised and battered in Game 5 by the St. Louis Blues.
There was the 5-0 final score, as lopsided in the final math as it appeared on the ice, with the Blues controlling play from the second period onward to take a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference finals. But more distressingly for San Jose, there were a parade of injuries that left the Sharks without key players Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski and Erik Karlsson in the third period, thwarting any hope of a rally.
"You don't want to make excuses, but some pretty key guys that are going down, some offensive guys that when you're playing from behind like that, it's tough to push the pace," said Sharks defenseman Brenden Dillon, who is typically Karlsson's partner. "We had a couple chances on the power play to kind of get some traction and some looks, but I think at the end of the day we need to kind of ramp up our level instead of go the other way."
Karlsson's status was questionable before Game 5, after missing eight critical minutes of the third period of Game 4. He didn't look much better on Sunday afternoon, clearly laboring in his skating and playing passively, a result of what has been speculated to be a groin injury for the 28-year-old star defenseman.
That was evident on two of the Blues' first three goals. At 5:50 of the first period, Karlsson misfired on a pass to Dillon and Oskar Sundqvist snapped a goal past Martin Jones, using Karlsson as a screen. "They scored where we turned it over and inadvertently screened our own goalie. Joner didn't really have a chance on that one," Couture said.
Historically known for his closing speed as a defenseman, Karlsson was unable to race back to defend Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko on a breakaway. Brent Burns tripped him on a breakaway, and Tarasenko deposited the puck over Jones' glove on an penalty shot for a 3-0 lead.
After playing 7:29 in the first period, Karlsson played just 3:03 in the second period and did not return for the third.
Sharks coach Peter DeBoer was asked if he regretted playing Karlsson in his condition in a critical Game 5. "Hindsight is 20/20, you know? We make those decisions based on the reports we get from the player and the medical [staff]," he said. "The report was that he felt he could play and get through the game. It's easy to sit here and say now, 'Yeah, sure you have regrets.'"
The other two injuries occurred during the game, on questionable hits from the Blues.
The Barbashev hit on Hertl.#SJSharks #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/kAXPyjo3Ma
— Brodie Brazil (@BrodieNBCS) May 19, 2019
Hertl was hit high by Ivan Barbashev in the first period, and did not play in the third period. DeBoer argued it should have been a major penalty.
"Arguably five-minute major on Tommy Hertl that, if it's called, maybe that's a momentum-changing play right there," he said. "But we come out of the first down 1-0, and then Hertl can't go and, you know, Karlsson can't go. So we started taking on some water."
The flood continued when Pavelski was hit high by Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and went to the dressing room just 1:31 into the third period.
Pavelski, who missed six games with a concussion in the second round against Colorado, did not return to the game. Joonas Donskoi, who was hit in the face with a puck during the game, returned to play in the third period.
Couture said that the NHL's Department of Player Safety may have paved the way for hits like the one that took Hertl out of Game 5 by not disciplining Blues forward Sammy Blais for his Game 3 headshot on defenseman Justin Braun.
"I saw the Hertl hit. I just watched the replay. Yeah, that's a tough one. But, I mean, when they had one earlier in Game 3 on the hit on [Justin] Braun and nothing happened, so they can do it again, right?" he said.
Couture also wasn't happy with the way the Sharks responded to that physicality in the third period, taking five minor penalties with Evander Kane and Micheal Haley picking up 10-minute misconducts.
"[We need to] control our emotions in the third. It's a three-goal game, we obviously took way too many penalties. You can't win or come back when you're in the box all period. It got away from us at the end. I would have really liked us to control our emotions and at least give ourselves a chance," he said.
The Blues knew the Sharks would attempt to play more physically as the game got out of reach. "We knew they were going to come out in the third period and look to hit. But we just try to focus on our game, we try to keep our cool. They can run around, but I think the refs handled it pretty good," St. Louis defenseman Joel Edmondson said. "I'm not going to poke the bear or anything. We're just happy with the way we played and we kept our cool."
The Blues have to be feeling cool heading back home for Game 6, seeking their first Stanley Cup Final berth since 1970. They've outscored the Sharks 7-1 since that controversial hand-pass goal that ended Game 3 in overtime. They controlled much of Game 5 after ceding the puck possession advantage to San Jose in Game 4.
And now they can add team health to the list of advantages. Sharks coach Peter DeBoer offered no update on the status of Pavelski, Hertl or Karlsson for Game 6.
Couture said the Sharks have faced this kind of adversity all postseason.
"We're still alive. We've been in this spot before, going to Vegas down 3-2 in a very difficult building. St. Louis is similar, it's a tough building against a good team. A structured team. We scored one goal in the last two games, that's not going to cut it," he said.
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Varner (81) 'a little pissed,' but he 'still had a good time'
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 19 May 2019 13:36
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Stepping into the cauldron of the final group in the final round of a major, Harold Varner III showed just how quickly things can spiral out of control.
Varner played his way into Sunday’s anchor pairing alongside Brooks Koepka with three rounds of steady play, entering the finale at Bethpage at 5 under, seven shots off the lead. He got to within five after a clinical dissection of the opening hole, combining a birdie with a bogey from Koepka.
But that was as close as he’d get, as Varner bogeyed No. 3 before disaster struck on the par-5 fourth. He pulled his drive into thick rough and then his second shot found more trouble, bounding into trees and leading to a lost ball. He made a double bogey and didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way, signing for an 11-over 81 that dropped him into a tie for 36th.
“I was super excited, man. It’s a great opportunity. I just don’t know how you can’t get up for that,” Varner said. “I just didn’t play very well. I didn’t do what I was supposed to do. But I’m excited I had the opportunity, and I’m excited to learn from it and get better.”
Varner won the Australian PGA Championship in 2016, but he remains in search of his first PGA Tour win and entered the week ranked 174th in the world. While his first brush with contention on a major stage didn’t go as planned, he took plenty of positives from the experience with the hopes of returning in the not-too-distant future.
“It’s hard, but I still had a good time. That’s kind of what you play for,” Varner said. “So it’s all right. Obviously I’m a little pissed right now. You want to do well. I don’t know who else doesn’t. But I’m going to get a lot better from it.”
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Koepka fueled by negative energy from fans: 'Kind of deserved it'
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 19 May 2019 13:44
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – After playing the first two rounds alongside Tiger Woods and building a seven-shot lead through 54 holes, Brooks Koepka received plenty of support from the raucous crowds gathered at Bethpage for the PGA Championship. But around these parts, even the Yankees get booed during a losing streak.
Such was the case Sunday, as Koepka’s seemingly insurmountable lead dwindled to a single shot after the defending champ rattled off four straight bogeys on Nos. 11-14. It left Koepka in a state of “shock,” with Dustin Johnson closing the gap two holes ahead of him, and it sparked an abrupt turn among the fans lining the closing stretch on the Black Course.
While some shifted their support to Johnson, who had closed the gap with a birdie on No. 15, others opted to vocally root against Koepka as he trundled down the large hill toward the 15th tee box.
“I thought it was pretty weird how they were telling Brooks to choke. That’s not my cup of tea,” said Harold Varner III, who played the final round alongside Koepka. “I was pulling for him after that. I have a few choice words for that.”
Koepka steadied the ship with a par on No. 15, and after a pair of Johnson bogeys he eventually won by two shots. Admitting that he “half-choked” during his back-nine bogey barrage, Koepka shared that the negative energy from the fans actually fueled him over the final few holes as he sought to keep Johnson at bay.
“I think I kind of deserved it. You’re going to rattle off four in a row and it looks like you’re going to lose it; I’ve been to sporting events in New York. I know how it goes,” Koepka said. “I think it actually helped. It was at a perfect time because I was just thinking, ‘OK, all right, I’ve got everybody against me. Let’s go.’”
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Koepka: Chamblee questioning toughness 'really pissed me off'
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 19 May 2019 13:49
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – It turns out Brooks Koepka will have the final word in a spat with Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee that began at last month’s Masters.
Chamblee had taken a hard line on Koepka, first criticizing a recent weight loss and then questioning his toughness.
“His talent is undeniable,” Chamblee said during “Live From The Masters” following Round 2. “But I’ve heard people say this. You extrapolate from accomplishment, you infer qualities from a human being like, ‘He’s really tough.’ Maybe he is, I don’t know. I've got to say, I still need to be convinced.”
After his fourth major victory on Sunday in his eighth Grand Slam start Koepka was asked if a particular criticism stood out to him.
“Telling me I wasn't tough. That pissed me off. That really pissed me off,” said Koepka, who beat world No. 1 Dustin Johnson by two strokes at Bethpage.
The dispute escalated earlier this month when Chamblee was asked during a podcast with Jaime Diaz if Tiger Woods was currently the game’s best player. In a perceived slight by omission, Chamblee said Rory McIlroy and Johnson were the players “who could hang with [Woods].”
Koepka responded to Chamblee’s comment on Twitter, with a picture of him wearing a clown nose.
Asked on Sunday at Bethpage who questioned his toughness Koepka didn’t mention Chamblee by name. “I think we all know,” he said.
Late on Sunday, Chamblee gave the champ credit, saying, “He’s made a believer out of me.”
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Koepka nearly collapses with four straight bogeys: 'In shock, I think'
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 19 May 2019 14:06
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Brooks Koepka’s stoic demeanor has become as much a part of his persona as his powerful drives, But late on Sunday at the PGA Championship, as his lead was slashed to a single stroke, that calm resilience was tested.
“I wasn't nervous. I was just in shock, I think. I was in shock of what was kind of going on,” said Koepka, who won his fourth major title and second PGA.
What was going on was a borderline collapse from Koepka, who saw a seven-shot lead slipping away as he bogeyed Nos. 11, 12, 13 and 14.
“I can't tell you the last time I made four bogeys in a row,” Koepka said.
His anxiety likely reached its peak on the par-3 14th hole, when his tee shot sailed through the wind and over the green. As Koepka prepared to hit a delicate pitch, Dustin Johnson, playing in the group ahead, birdied the 15th hole to cut Koepka's advantage to just one.
Although he stopped short of calling it nervousness, Koepka’s caddie Ricky Elliott said it was the first time he’s seen his boss anxious on the golf course.
“I just got the feeling we were dropping so many shots. Anybody would get nervous,” Elliott said. “When [Johnson] birdied 15, we heard the roar and we were making a mess of 14. We just talked going down the hill, 'Listen we’re still there, we’re still in the lead, he’s got tough holes to play. You’ve bogeyed four in a row so there’s a good chance you’re going to par a few.'”
Koepka stopped the slide with pars at Nos. 15 and 16 and scrambled for a par at the last hole for a two-stroke victory.
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Little brother no more: Koepka sends message staring down DJ at the PGA
Published in
Golf
Sunday, 19 May 2019 14:21
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – It wasn’t long ago that Brooks Koepka was merely the lovable sidekick, the harmless challenger to Dustin Johnson’s throne. They played golf together. They lifted weights together. They boated and fished and vacationed together. But a viable threat to his supremacy? Oh, no. Unlikely.
And yet there was Johnson, in the scoring tent at Bethpage Black, glancing up at a TV monitor as Koepka closed in on another major, on the verge of eclipsing him even further.
In a 25-mph wind, on a brutish course that turned wayward drives into hack-outs, Johnson had played majestically for 15 holes, slicing into Koepka’s massive advantage and trailing by only one as he stood over his 194-yard approach into the 16th green.
But the next 45 minutes at the PGA Championship epitomized why the extravagantly talented Johnson has only a single major in 40 starts, while Koepka just bagged his fourth in his past eight attempts. The answer was right there on the scorecard he was double-checking with Sharpie marker, the consecutive bogeys late that nullified his remarkable round of 69 and left him second in a major – again.
After signing his card, Johnson meandered over to a TV tent for an on-camera interview. While waiting to go live, Johnson watched Koepka navigate the 18th hole. There was still a slight chance of a playoff, especially after Koepka’s drive sailed left, into the native area, but then he chopped back into play and wedged to 6 feet. It was over.
“We can start now,” Johnson said to the interviewer.
Entering the final round seven shots behind, Johnson knew that he needed a special round – and some help – to earn his first major title since the 2016 U.S. Open, the breakthrough that was supposed to open the floodgates. He raced off to a dream start, making the turn in 3 under to turn the PGA into a two-man race, but the wind switched when the final groups headed to the back nine and turned the closing stretch into a test of survival.
After looking unstoppable for three-and-a-half days, Koepka began sliding down the leaderboard. Errant drives on Nos. 11, 12 and 13. An airmailed tee shot on 14. Coupled with a Johnson birdie on 15, the seven-shot lead was now down to a single stroke, and for the first time, Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliott, noticed his normally unflappable boss looking anxious.
“I wasn’t nervous,” Koepka said. “I was just in shock.”
Meanwhile, the crowd, sensing a potentially historic collapse, shifted its allegiance to Johnson, loudly chanting, “DJ! DJ! DJ!” Just like that, Koepka was transported to another time, not so long ago, when Johnson was the main attraction and Koepka a mere bit player, when he’d venture over to Johnson’s place in South Florida and stare longingly at the U.S. Open trophy on his table.
“I think it actually helped,” Koepka said afterward. “It was at a perfect time, because I was just thinking, 'OK, I’ve got everybody against me. Let’s go.'”
Their rooting interest was understandable. There’s no one on the planet who plays as consistently excellent as Johnson. He’s a 20-time winner on Tour, with at least one title every season as a pro. He’s won against the best non-major fields, with 10 combined titles in World Golf Championships and playoff events. He’s been ranked inside the top 3 in strokes gained: total – the statistic that accounts for every aspect of a player’s game – in each of the past four seasons. But careers are inevitably defined by a player’s performance in the majors, and Johnson has a controversy-marred U.S. Open ... and a whole lot of heartache. That includes at last year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock, when Johnson held the 36-hole lead and Koepka stared him down in the final round, head to head, and forever altered the dynamics of their brotherly relationship.
“He’s as competitive of a person as I’ve ever met,” said Koepka’s swing coach, Claude Harmon III, “and I think you need not necessarily rivalries, but people to push you and to inspire you. DJ has done a great job of that.”
And so it mattered little that Johnson didn’t have a realistic chance at the beginning of the day – trailing by one on 16, that was his chance to punch back. Finally.
With 194 yards for his approach into 16, into the fan, Johnson debated between 4- and 5-iron and opted for the shorter club. His low draw still flew 203 yards, settling into the rough behind the green. He pitched to 8 feet and hit what he thought was a perfect putt, only for it to slice in front of the cup. Bogey.
“I don’t know what else to do there,” he said.
On the raucous 17th, Johnson missed the green right and couldn’t get up and down. Another bogey. And on 18, he never gave himself a chance for a closing birdie, slicing his drive into the fairway bunker, hooking his approach wide of the green and needing to hole a 6-footer just to save par. It was the end of a demoralizing stretch that exposed Johnson’s crunch-time frailties.
“I would have liked to have a couple shots back,” he said, “but that’s how it goes.”
Behind Johnson, Koepka showed his mettle, pounding perfect drives on 15 and 16 to set up stress-free pars that increased his cushion. Even though he fired a final-round 74, even though he saw his lead evaporate from seven shots to just one, Koepka was the one posing afterward with the Wanamaker Trophy for the second consecutive year.
“It doesn’t really matter how,” Harmon said. “He’ll get as much out of this as if he would have won by 15.”
So what’s the separator between the two best players in the world? Why has Johnson been prone to major let downs, while Koepka has thrived on the biggest stages, prevailing on a funky, links-style course, and on dastardly greens, and against Tiger Woods, and on one of the most beastly setups imaginable?
“He has showed over the last two to three years how mentally tough he is,” Harmon said. “To do what he’s done, he’s uniquely talented. He’s got huge balls. Like ... big balls. You have to be able to do that to win these things.”
Throughout his star-crossed career, Johnson has proven to be remarkably resilient, bouncing back from repeated failures only to get his heart broken again. Afterward, he was informed that he’d captured not his second major, but the final leg of a more frustrating title – the Career Runner-Up Slam.
“Yayyyyyy,” he said, with mock enthusiasm. “I’m so excited.”
Searching for silver linings in another late letdown, a reporter asked Johnson whom he believed was the best player in the world.
“I’m pretty sure I’m still ranked No. 1,” Johnson replied, “so I’d pick myself.”
Only that wasn’t true. Not anymore.
With his fourth major in 23 months, Koepka leapfrogged Johnson and reclaimed the top spot.
The little brother is the bully, now and perhaps forever.
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Manchester United have been handed a huge favour by rivals Man City, with Pep Guardiola's FA Cup win saving the Red Devils from a summer of fixture chaos.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side finished sixth in the Premier League and would have faced a Europa League qualifier on July 25 and Aug. 1 if City had lost to Watford at Wembley on Saturday. But City cruised to a 6-0 victory with goals from David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus (2) and Raheem Sterling (2).
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The early start to the season would have played havoc with a preseason schedule that was already in place, including friendlies in Australia, Singapore, China and Cardiff.
But now United will go direct to the group-stage draw (the place reserved for the FA Cup winners, which City do not need). Instead it will be Wolves who start their season in July, with the berth in the Europa League second qualifying going to seventh in the Premier League.
Wolves will now have to play on six consecutive Thursdays -- in the second qualifying round, third qualifying round and playoff round -- to make it into the draw for the group stage on Aug. 30. The Premier League season begins on the weekend on Aug. 10.
Wolves have already confirmed their participation in the Asia Trophy, and will play two games in China on July 17 and 20. However, as yet they have no fixtures in place after these dates so would be clear for the Europa League qualifiers.
United play Tottenham in Shanghai on July 25 -- the same day as the Europa League second qualifying round first leg -- and AC Milan in Cardiff on Aug. 3.
Both these games would have been under threat had United had to play in the Europa League that week. But sources told ESPN FC that contingency plans were in place with options including fulfilling friendlies with a reserve team or moving the dates and venues of games.
Sources have also told ESPN FC that United have also agreed a deal with Kristiansund -- Solskjaer's hometown team -- to play an additional friendly in Oslo on July 30. However, the club had been forced to delay the announcement until after their Europa League schedule was clear.
The squad are due to report back at Carrington for the start of preseason training on July 1 before flying to Australia on July 7. They are due to play Perth Glory in Perth on July 13 before a game against Leeds United, also in Perth, on July 17. From there, United fly to Singapore to play Inter Milan on July 20.
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Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has called his future with the French champions into question after he won the National Union of Professional Footballers' (UNFP) Ligue 1 Player and Young Player of the Year awards on Sunday.
The France international has 32 goals and six assists from 28 matches this season and still has one final Championnat match left to prevent Barcelona's Lionel Messi from winning the Golden Shoe by overcoming a four-goal deficit.
Mbappe, still just 20, beat off competition from the likes of teammates Neymar, who was absent from the ceremony, for the senior prize -- he then made an even greater stir during his acceptance speech.
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"I think that it is a very important moment for me as I feel that I am approaching a first, or second, turning point in my career," said the former Monaco man. "I have discovered a lot of things here and I feel that it is perhaps time for greater responsibility.
"I hope that it will be with PSG, which would be with great pleasure, or maybe elsewhere with a new project. However, I would like to say thank you."
Mbappe followed that up by explaining in a mixed zone for the award winners that he knew exactly what he was doing and intended to send "a message."
"I said what I had to say," he said. "When you are at such an important event, you can send messages -- I think that I sent mine.
"If I say more, it will become too much. It will not be the same and that is not the message that I want to send."
Mbappe also added that he felt that it was the right moment for him to say what he said just after his double-prize success.
"If I say more, I think that it will be going too far," he said. "I said what I had to say at the ceremony.
? #TrophéesUNFP
— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) May 19, 2019
?? Kylian Mbappé est le meilleur espoir et le meilleur joueur de la saison !
? "C'est peut-être le moment d'avoir plus de responsabilités, ce sera peut-être au PSG, avec grand plaisir, ou peut-être ailleurs, avec un nouveau projet" pic.twitter.com/C7fJiGJM9d
"No, there was no hesitation -- I think that it was the right moment for me to say it. I am somebody committed, so when I say something, I believe it. It was the right moment, so I said it."
Mbappe is one of the youngest players to win the Player of the Year award, while his young player title is his third consecutive in that category.
The Frenchman also made it into the best XI for the season alongside teammates Neymar, Angel Di Maria, Marco Verratti, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.
Elsewhere, PSG coach Thomas Tuchel was beaten to Coach of the Year by Lille's Christophe Galtier, as LOSC's Parisien-raised Mike Maignan also came out on top of Alphonse Areola in the goalkeeper field.
Lille's Loic Remy took Goal of the Season, while Real Madrid's Karim Benzema was voted best Frenchman playing abroad.
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Koepka struggles, holds off Johnson for PGA win
Published in
Breaking News
Sunday, 19 May 2019 19:14
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- His place in PGA Championship history finally secure, Brooks Koepka draped both arms around the top of the Wanamaker Trophy and let out a deep sigh.
The stress was more than he wanted. The satisfaction was more than he imagined.
Koepka lost all but one shot of his record seven-shot lead on Sunday. Then he lost the brutal Long Island crowd, which began chants of "D.J.! D.J.!" as Koepka was on his way to a fourth straight bogey that allowed Dustin Johnson to pull within one shot.
"It's New York," Koepka said. "What do you expect when you're half-choking it away?"
He responded like a player capable of piling up major championships faster than anyone since Tiger Woods.
Motivated by the crowd turning on him, Koepka delivered the key shots over the closing stretch as Johnson faded with two straight bogeys. Koepka closed with a 4-over 74 for a two-shot victory and joined Woods as the only back-to-back winners of the PGA Championship since it went to stroke play in 1958.
That gives him four wins in the past eight majors he has played in and makes him the first player to hold two back-to-back majors at the same time. He won his second straight U.S. Open last summer 60 miles down the road at Shinnecock Hills in front of a far less rowdy crowd.
When his 6-foot par putt fell on the last hole on Sunday, Koepka thrust his muscular right arm in the air and hugged his caddie hard.
"Today was definitely the most satisfying out of all of them for how stressful that round was -- how stressful D.J. made that," Koepka said. "I know for a fact that was the most excited I've ever been in my life there on 18."
Koepka said at the start of the week that majors are sometimes the easiest to win.
This one should have been.
It wasn't.
And it didn't help that a raging wind that gusted up to 25 mph turned Bethpage Black into a beast, with Johnson (69) the only player out of the last 12 groups to shoot par or better. Koepka's 74 was the highest final round by a PGA champion since Vijay Singh (4-over 76) won in a playoff at Whistling Straits in 2004.
"I'm just glad I don't have to play any more holes," Koepka said. "That was a stressful round of golf. I'm glad to have this thing back in my hands."
Koepka appeared to wrap it up with a gap wedge from 156 yards to 2 feet on the 10th hole for a birdie, as Johnson made his first bogey of the round up ahead on the 11th. That restored the lead to six shots, and the coronation was on.
Then it all changed in a New York minute.
0:58
Koepka: Winning 4 majors is 'mind-blowing'
Brooks Koepka reflects on his quick rise to the top of the golf world after successfully defending his PGA Championship title and securing a 4th major victory in only 2 years.
Four holes later, Koepka walked off the 15th tee with a one-shot lead. He looked over to his left to see Johnson facing a 7-foot par putt on the 16th hole -- the most difficult hole at Bethpage Black on Sunday because it was into the wind -- to stay within one shot. The groan of the crowd told him Johnson had missed.
"I felt like as long as I had the lead, I was fine," Koepka said. "As long as I put it in the fairway, I was going to be all right."
Koepka, who finished at 8-under 272, returned to No. 1 in the world with a performance that defines his dominance in golf's biggest events.
He was the first wire-to-wire winner in the PGA Championship since Hal Sutton at Riviera in 1983. It was his third straight year winning a major, a feat achieved by only seven others since the Masters began in 1934 -- Woods, Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Peter Thomson and Ralph Guldahl.
Winning four of his past eight majors is a stretch not seen since Woods won seven out of 11 when he captured the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.
This was Koepka's fourth win in a major before turning 30. In the Masters era (since 1934), only two golfers have had more major wins before turning 30 -- Woods and Nicklaus, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Koepka also is the first player to earn $7 million in a span of five majors.
Next up is the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, where Koepka already is the betting favorite as he defends his title for the second time. No one has won the U.S. Open three straight years since Willie Anderson in 1905.
And no one will doubt whether Koepka is capable the way he is playing.
Johnson knew he was a long shot going into the final round -- no one had ever lost a seven-shot lead in a major -- and he still managed to make Koepka work for it.
Koepka came undone with a shot he thought would be perfect -- a 5-iron from 194 yards, dead into the wind on the 16. It one-hopped over the green into thick rough.
"Hit the shot I wanted to right at the flag," Johnson said. "I don't know how it flew 200 yards into the wind like that."
Johnson now has runner-up finishes in all four of the majors, the wrong kind of career Grand Slam.
"I gave it a run," Johnson said. "That's all you can ask for."
It was more than anyone expected, especially when Koepka was six shots ahead with eight holes to play.
The crowd sensed a collapse and began chanting Johnson's nickname on the par-3 14th as Koepka went long and was headed for a fourth straight bogey.
Koepka is a 29-year-old Floridian with an imposing figure, power off the tee and out of the rough, no obvious weakness in his game and the kind of mental fortitude that majors require. He needed all of it to win this one.
"I wasn't nervous," he said. "I was in shock of what was going on."
Bethpage has a reputation for being over the top, and it irritated Harold Varner III, who shot 81 playing in the final group.
"I thought it was pretty weird how they were telling Brooks to choke," Varner said about the 14th hole. "That's not my cup of tea. I was pulling for him after that."
Koepka held it together at the most crucial moment. He piped his driver down the 15th fairway and two-putted for par. And he drilled another one into the 16th for another par. He kept it interesting to the end, three-putting the 17th as the lead went back to two shots, then pulling his driver on the 18th into fescue so thick it left him little choice but to lay up and scramble for par. Once his medium lob wedge settled 6 feet away, he could relax.
Finally.
Woods won the Wanamaker Trophy in consecutive years twice, in 1999 and 2000 and again in 2006 and 2007. Koepka was starting to draw comparisons with Woods for the way he obliterated the competition, much like Woods in his 12-shot victory in the 1997 Masters and 15-shot victory in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
Koepka tied the PGA Championship record by opening with a 63. He broke the major championship record for 36 holes at 128. He set another PGA Championship record with his seven-shot lead.
In the end, just having his name on the heaviest championship trophy in golf was all that mattered.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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The Houston Rockets and coach Mike D'Antoni have had preliminary discussions on the framework of a contract extension that would keep the two-time NBA Coach of the Year from entering the final year of his deal.
"I've let [general manager] Daryl [Morey] and [team owner] Tilman [Fertitta] know that I'm energized to keep coaching --- and believe that I can continue to do this at a high level for at least another three years," D'Antoni, 68, told ESPN on Sunday night.
"I want to be a part of a championship here."
It is unclear how significant of a commitment the Rockets are willing to make to D'Antoni, who told ESPN he prefers to avoid entering the final year of his original four-year contract in 2019-20 without an extension.
Fertitta called the Rockets' loss in the Western Conference semifinals to the Golden State Warriors earlier this month "unacceptable." Top assistant Jeff Bzdelik -- who was talked out of retirement in November to address the team's defense -- was informed by management on Sunday he wouldn't be offered a new contract. The Rockets' defense excelled under Bzdelik. More changes could be made to D'Antoni's staff, league sources said.
D'Antoni has averaged 58 victories in his three seasons with the Rockets, including four playoff series victories and a trip to Game 7 of the 2018 Western Conference finals. The Golden State Warriors eliminated the Rockets in each of the past two seasons, including a six-game victory in the most recent conference semifinals.
"He's not a lame duck to me." Fertitta told the Houston Chronicle last week. "That's just a media term. We're more concerned with making our team better next year. Mike will be here. I like Mike. I think he's a very good coach. Players like playing for him."
"I keep being told free agents want to know who the owner is and they want to know who the coach is," Fertitta said. "Mike and I do well together. Hopefully, we'll continue to win and Mike will be here for a long time."
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