Davis Love chose an appropriately traditional setting yesterday, to finally claim a place that had long been reserved for him among the game's elite. Born to be a tournament player, he survived a late rainstorm, shooting 66 to capture the 79th USPGA Championship by five strokes, on the celebrated terrain of Winged Foot. An 11-under-par 269, gave the 33-year-old the title over second-placed Justin Leonard and secured a place in the US Ryder Cup team for Valderrama next month. Love completed the work with a glorious five iron of 190 yards to the 72nd, leaving the ball 10 feet right of the pin.
Then, on the way to a finishing birdie, there was time for a smile as he walked towards the green, framed by a rainbow. "It's been a long time coming - a rough trip," said Love, who made his `major' debut in this championship in 1986. "It's a wonderful thrill, after throwing away a lot of tournaments because I was pushing too hard."
Highly emotional, he went on: "To win at Winged Foot and join the incredible group of champions here, is very special. I did it while feeling the best I've every felt over four days, but the last few holes were the hardest walk I've had, trying to keep my composure."
The performance buried emphatically, the memory of a humbling experience in the US Open 14 months ago. That was when three putts on the 72nd green at Oakland Hills, deprived him of a play-off place against Steve Jones and increased doubts that he could claim his destiny.
But the precious breakthrough eventually began to take shape in a crucial, rain-interrupted third round of 66 on Saturday. It allowed him keep pace with British Open champion Justin Leonard who, with a course record 65 that contained four birdies in the last five holes, set the seemingly unreachable target of seven under.
As the storm of Saturday's evening finally abated, however, Love responded magnificently in the last pairing on the course. Beautiful putting allowed him to save par at the 16th and 17th and he then drew level with Leonard with another fine effort, this time from eight feet for a birdie at the last.
Meanwhile, the outcome was also crucial for third-placed Jeff Maggert, who equalled Leonard's record with a sparkling 65 that contained six birdies. Maggert, a member of the US Ryder Cup team two years ago, knew he needed a high finish to pass Tommy Tolles in the current standings - and he was equal to the challenge.
"I was mad at myself for the way I finished yesterday," he said afterwards, in reference to a double-bogey at the 17th on Saturday. "Because of that, I decided I wouldn't think about finishing fifth or sixth or whatever it would take to make the team; I just went out to play as well as I could."
For the first time in competition at the highest level, Love had proved on Saturday that he had a putting stroke of the required quality. And the magic stayed with him yesterday in a flawless outward journey of 32 that contained three birdies: at the short third, where a 25-footer found the target; at the long fifth, which he reached in two; and at the eighth, where he rolled the ball home from 12 feet to be five strokes clear.
Leonard's remarkable scrambling from earlier in the championship, no longer compensated for wayward driving. In the tradition of Winged Foot, he was punished with bogeys at the second and fourth and reached the turn in 37. Still, he closed the gap to three, with a birdie at the long 12th where Love drove in the rough for a bogey six.
"The next hole saved me," said Love of the 212-yard 13th. "After a bad four iron, I managed to chip the ball almost into the hole. Getting up and down there gave me the confidence to finish the job."
Which he did, using his trusty one iron to brilliant effect off the tee at the treacherous, closing holes. And as the son of a PGA professional, his `major' breakthrough had a rather nice ring about it.
One sensed that his late father would have been smiling approvingly from the fairways in the sky. Doubtful whether to play in the 1964 US Masters because of the imminent arrival of a baby son, Davis Love II actually produced his finest tournament performance at Augusta - and was home in time for the birth of Davis III, on April 13th.
Later acknowledged as one of America's finest golf teachers, he died in a plane crash in 1988. But the closeness of the family was emphasised by the presence of another son, Mark, caddying for his brother yesterday.
Leonard graciously recognised this, when saying afterwards: "Obviously I'm disappointed but I'm happy for Davis and his family." He added: "When we got to the 18th green, he wanted me to go first but I insisted `no, you've won the tournament.' I actually had to push him on to the green. He's a classy guy."
Meanwhile, most of the European survivors produced admirably solid performances, even if they never threatened to break into the top 10. Indeed the only serious disappointment was a closing 78 by Costantino Rocca, who had two double-bogeys in his closing three holes, in sharp contrast to his form of the opening two rounds.
Predictably, Colin Montgomerie, tied 13th, was the top European after a closing 72 for 284, but he was far from happy with his game. "It hasn't been a good week," he said. "My putting was particularly poor and the only way I managed to finish on four over was through guts and determination."
He went on: "I've got a lot of work to do before I play in the Smurfit European Open later this week." Before that, the Scot is heading for Colorado today for a Shell Wonderful World of Golf match against Phil Mickelson.
The best European finish yesterday was a 69 from Bernhard Langer, the recently-crowned Czech Open champion. The key to the German's round was the sequence of holes from the seventh to the 12th which he covered in two under par on the way to a share of 23rd place.
On a broader level, the overall performance of US Open champion, Ernie Els, would have been a major disappointment to his many admirers. Even a hole-inone at the 190-yard 10th yesterday, when he found the target with a six iron, failed to get him below par for the round and he ended the day on 290 - 10 over.
