BROOKS KOEPKA survived an almighty scare before claiming a place among the golfing elite with a fourth Major victory in his last eight starts.
But he almost claimed the title of golfs biggest ever choker instead, as he saw his seven shot overnight lead at the USPGA whittled down to just one by the time he scrambled over the finishing line.
The seemingly unstoppable Koepka played the back nine in four over par, while best pal Dustin Johnson moved to three under for his final round with a birdie at the 15th and suddenly we were looking at the unthinkable instead.
But Johnson has suffered more than his share of final round collapses in the Majors, and just when he needed to turn up the pressure he let Koepka off the hook with back-to-back bogeys.
Without the defending champion doing anything apart from his first part in more than an hour his lead was suddenly back up to three. And even though Koepka dropped two more shots, a ragged five over par 75 just about got the job done
But after all the talk that Koepka was on the verge of ushering in a Tiger Woods-style era of dominance in the Majors, this gigantic wobble will give all his rivals renewed belief that he is only human after all.
Nick Faldo dubbed him The Demomoraliser after the Florida muscle man pummelled his rivals for the first 54 holes, charging to 12 under par with Johnson and the rest apparently left to play a tournament within a tournament.
Englands Matt Wallace was one of the leading figures in that sub-plot, advertising his own Major potential by battling his way into a share of third place alongside Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay.
But all eyes were on the scrap at the top of the leaderboard and if it had all blown up in Koepkas face, he would have been the one feeling demoralised, deflated, and downright devastated.
Focused Brooks Koepka denies girlfriend, Jena Sims, a kiss as he prepares for PGA Championship final roundPLACE AMONG THE GREATS
He came through in the end, but this was definitely not the way it was supposed to happen.
New Yorkers love a parade and this was meant to be the climax of a four day victory procession. Yet Koepka must have spent most of the back nine fearing he would be showered with abuse that than tick-a-tape.
But when the dust settled he could still reflect that he is only the fourth golfer to manage a fifty per cent strike rate over a run of eight Majors.
The only others to win four out of weight were Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Ben Hogan, so Koepka, 29, finds himself in exalted company.
The nine previous players to take a seven shot lead in the final round of a Major had all gone on to win, and no-one really imagined it would be any different this time.
But there was a glimpse of things to come as Koepka sowed the first seed of doubt straight off the bat with a bogey at the first hole.
From then on it was merely a question of whether Johnson the other half of the self-styled Bash Brothers could make enough birdies to put the squeeze on his gym partner.
For a while it looked like Johnson would choke his pal to death. But he just about managed to wriggle free.
Picking up his silverware, Koepka, who led from the first round, said: "That was a stressful round of golf. I'm glad to have this thing back in my hands.
"Dustin did an unbelievable job putting pressure on me and making me play some solid golf at the end.
"It's incredible. I don't even know if I dreamed of this. I'm still in shock right now. This is awesome.
"I kept telling myself I had lead and Dustin had to make birdies.
Golf star Brooks Koepkas stunning movie star girlfriend Jena Sims tops wag leaderboard"I don't have words for it, it was an absolute grind. I'm glad we didn't have to play any more holes.
"Today wasn't my day day but I hung in there. Don't freak out. Don't let anything get to you.
"It went down to a one shot lead and from there I just had to hit good golf shots but it wasn't the easiest day for that."