HAVEN, Wis. — One contender fell victim to a rules technicality, another was done in by a poor decision. When all the controversy had settled and the chaos emptied into dusk Sunday, Martin Kaymer kept his wits about him, played the percentages and won the P.G.A. Championship at Whistling Straits.
Kaymer, 25, of Düsseldorf, Germany, made the season’s last major his first tournament victory in the United States by winning a three-hole playoff with Bubba Watson. He won with a bogey at the final playoff hole for an aggregate score of par to beat Watson, who double-bogeyed the final hole for an aggregate score of one over.
Kaymer, who closed with a two-under-par 70 for a 72-hole total of 11-under 277, and Watson, who closed with a 68, thought they would be joined in a three-way playoff by Dustin Johnson. Johnson seemed to be standing over the potential winning putt at the last hole of regulation. But he missed the putt, and then missed the playoff because he had touched the ground with his 4-iron in a bunker outside the ropes at the 18th hole before hitting his second shot. He was penalized two strokes. He signed for a 73 and finished tied for fifth at 279 with Jason Dufner (71) and the 1995 P.G.A. Championship winner, Steve Elkington (71) of Australia.
Full story: A Penalty and a Playoff Cap a Wild P.G.A. – NYTimes.com