SPRINGFIELD, N.J. — For the average sports fan, Jimmy Walker may be as colorless as the clothes he wore Sunday. All black.
At 37, Walker is too old to be cool. He’s too soft-spoken to demand your attention. His game has been so steadily unspectacular there was really no reason to take much notice of him since he broke out with five victories in an eight-start span on the PGA Tour in 2014-15.
He has been a roadie among rock stars, but at the end of the PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club, the band was watching him play.
Pressed by a spectacular eagle at 18 made by world No. 1 Jason Day, Walker responded with his own dramatic putt when he canned a birdie on the 17th hole. And with his friends — Day, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler — watching under dark skies, from the back of the final green, Walker secured his first major title with a two-putt par.
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Day was trying to win his second straight PGA, and Walker beat him by one shot by matching him with a 3-under-par 67 in the final round. Walker led wire-to-wire and finished with a 14-under total, 10 shots better than Phil Mickelson when he won the PGA at Baltsurol in 2005.
Walker and Day were among those who had to play 36 holes on Sunday because storms prevented them from getting on the course Saturday. Day gained one shot in the morning, scoring 67 to Walker’s 68.
Walker was never caught in the final round, and after making nine straight pars to start, he gave himself a cushion by holing out from a greenside bunker at 10 and making a birdie putt at 11. He recorded the first bogey-free round on his majors resume.
He also is the fifth straight first-timer to win a major.
“God, just to be in it and be there and have a chance to finish it off is just … it’s so gratifying,” Walker said. “Everything I’ve done up to this point helped this happen.”
If Walker is mostly a mystery to those outside of golf, he is highly popular among his peers, and that showed in the genuine celebration that happened in the scoring area after he’d won. He regularly travels to events in a luxury bus, as do Day and Spieth. You can find them parked next to each other.
Day, holding his son, Dash, was the first player to greet a tearful Walker with a hug, and then Walker’s two young boys traded high-fives with Dash.
Fowler and Spieth waited to offer their congratulations after Walker signed his scorecard, and even the caddies were involved. Day’s mentor and caddie, Colin Swatton, warmly congratulated Walker’s longtime looper, Andy Sanders, and Michael Greller, Speith’s caddie, asked for a photo with Sanders.
“He’s always been very positive,” said Fowler, who regularly plays practice rounds with Walker. “He’s always looked on the bright side of everything. He’s one of the best guys I know on and off the golf course.
“To see him struggle since the five wins and know what that feels like … this is huge for him.”
Walker, a quiet Texan who lives outside of San Antonio, was grateful for his friends’ presence.
“It’s amazing sportsmanship,” he said. “I think that’s what golf is. … I think it’s great that these young guys ask me to come play and hang out with them. Makes me feel awesome.”
Day definitely gave Walker a friendly scare.
It was a haphazard final round for the Aussie, who was trying for his fourth win of the year. Day was immediately wayward off the tee and bogeyed two of the first three holes. He bounced back with three birdies in the middle of the round but also left himself with too many long birdie attempts.
When Day didn’t birdie the par-5 17th, he trailed Walker, playing in the group behind him, by two shots. He needed eagle at 18, and he got that chance when he hit 2-iron off the tee and used the club again for an approach that landed softly and settled 15 feet from the cup.
“Probably one of the best 2-irons I ever hit,” Day said.
The crowd roared for Day while Walker lined up his 8-foot birdie putt at 17.
“I said, ‘Let’s birdie and close this thing out,’ ” Walker said. “And Andy said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And made birdie.”
Walker’s putt fell into the hole — barely — catching the right edge.
Pumped up for his chance to tie, Day’s shoulders slumped when he saw the scoreboard as he walked to the 18th green. Still, he made the putt, pumping his fists.
“It was nice to get eagle, just to try and make Jimmy think about it,” Day said. “But obviously Jimmy just played too good all day.”
Walker caused murmurs in the big grandstand behind 18 when he went for the green in two and ended up in thick rough next to the green. But only one bogey was made on the hole in the final round, and Walker was confident he’d get safety in with three shots. He needed only to make a 2-footer after pitching up and lagging his first putt.
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“Incredible finish,” Walker said. “Just puts a smile on my face.”