By Steve Todd, europeantour.com
at Whistling Straits
The final Major Championship of the 2015 season may not have yielded a European Tour winner, but with five members finishing in the top seven at Whistling Straits, the US PGA Championship once again underlined the current strength of competition on the Race to Dubai.
It was South African Branden Grace who led the European Tour charge in Wisconsin, finishing in third position behind Jason Day and Jordan Spieth to achieve his best finish in a Major Championship, improving on his tied fourth place at June’s US Open.
Grace, who moves to 20th on the latest Official World Golf Ranking, was joined in the top seven by Englishman Justin Rose, who finished fourth, India’s Anirban Lahiri and American Brooks Koepka, who shared fifth position, and Grace’s compatriot George Coetzee, who tied for seventh place with US pair Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.
And with Ryder Cup trio Martin Kaymer (tied 12th), Rory McIlroy (17th) and Victor Dubuisson (tied 18th) also present towards the top of the leaderboard, it meant eight European Tour members, representing seven different nationalities, featured inside the top 20.
Here, in their own words, is how some of the leading European Tour members at Whistling Straits reflected on their performances in the 97th US PGA Championship:
Branden Grace
“I got off to the dream start out there, four under through nine, which was needed on a day like today. But I had a couple of silly mistakes around the corner. I had a disappointing double bogey on the tenth that got me back, too far back, and then it was just a grind coming in. But a solid third, it's still a great week, and there's still a lot of positives, again, to take out of it.
“Obviously I'm getting closer in the Majors, which I want to do. I feel that the game is keeping up and the standard of golf that I'm playing is showing. And I don't have to step down for these guys.
“Jason was just a tough competitor this week. He played some marvelous golf and I don't think anybody would have caught him this week. But if those silly mistakes weren't in there, you never know what would have been the finish. But it's still a great week.”
Justin Rose
“I think I made a charge. I had a putt on number 12 to get to 17 under. Jason, at that point, was at 18. I did all I could really through the front nine, and when I made the turn I really got in the tournament.
“The double bogey on 13 took the wind out of my sails. That's the thing about this golf course, there's birdies to be had, but if you get in the wrong spot, you can get a double real quick and unfortunately that's what happened to me on 13, which was very untimely.
“There's always disappointment. I don't think it will change my life. Winning changes your life. I played well, just more evidence that my game is there, and ready to compete again and win a Major Championship. So you take confidence from it.”
Anirban Lahiri
“It's been a fantastic week. It started off with the long drive on Tuesday and it's been fantastic. I've loved the golf course right from the first day and first look. But obviously I’m a little disappointed with that finish.
“It's massive for me. It gives me so much confidence. It also tells me that I can compete with the best on the toughest courses and the best fields. It also tells me that I need to get just a little bit better and maybe I'll be back here more often.”
Brooks Koepka
“I think I'm ready to win one. I think that the more of them (Majors) you play, the more comfortable you get. That's something I was telling my family not too long ago, it's just about being comfortable. You put yourself in an awkward situation, as long as you can learn from it, you're going to be better off the next time. I seem to learn from, whether it be good or bad, what I do on the golf course pretty well.
“I looked at the last eight months, or since the US PGA last year, I've just been trending upward, putting myself in good situations and that's good for you. I'm learning from it and I think that I'm ready to compete for Majors. Ready to win them, not ready just to compete.”
Martin Kaymer
“I never really got it going under par. That was the problem. I didn't make birdie on five and six. I had a very disappointing double bogey on four that threw me back quite a bit. And then I didn't birdie 10 and 11. So I never really got it going today on the greens.
“It was a solid round and a solid tournament. But at the end of the day, if I finish top ten, top 15, it doesn't get me much of anything. I came here to try to have a chance on Sunday afternoon, and that was pretty much gone after nine holes, which is disappointing. But I think that I can build up from the game the way I played.”
