PGA Championship: Record winning margins in majors as Brooks Koepka leads at Bethpage
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Last Updated: 20/05/19 2:07pm
After continuing his dominance of the PGA Championship on Saturday, Brooks Koepka goes into the final round at Bethpage Black with a seven-shot lead.
The 29-year-old American has long-been a strong favourite to wrap up his fourth major success and, having already broken a number of records this week, he can rewrite the record books once again on Sunday afternoon in New York.
Rory McIlroy claimed the biggest PGA Championship win when he triumphed by eight shots at Kiawah Island in 2012, while the largest winning margin in a major is 15 shots by Tiger Woods in the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach.
Here we take a look back at the most dominant performances in major history as Koepka prepares to gatecrash the list……
Tiger Woods - 15 shots - 2000 US Open
Woods led from wire-to-wire as he claimed the first of his three US Open victories at Pebble Beach in 2000.
He made the most of his early start with a six-under 65 in the opening round to lead by one and then defied difficult conditions in a weather-hit second round for a 69 which extended his advantage to six shots.
The strong winds and deep rough tested the field in the third round, but Woods still went round in level-par 71 to move 10 clear and he was on a different level to the rest of the field in the final round with a bogey-free 67 to move to 12 under and a remarkable 15 shots ahead of joint runners-up Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ernie Els.
Tiger Woods - 12 shots - 1997 Masters
Woods was breaking his own record in California in 2000 after setting the previous best winning margin when he secured his first major victory at Augusta National three years earlier.
That margin of victory was even more notable after he played the first nine holes of his first round in four-over 40, before coming home in six-under 30 for a round of 70 which left him three off the lead.
Woods, at the age of 21, then took total command with the lowest scores in both the second and third round - 65 and 66 - to scoot nine clear, and he eased to a 12-shot success over Tom Kite by carding a three-under 69 in the final round for a tournament-record total of 18-under 270.
Jack Nicklaus - 9 shots - 1965 Masters
Woods' performance in 1997 shattered a number of records that had been set by Jack Nicklaus at Augusta National when he won the second of his six Masters titles 32 years earlier with a 17-under 271 total.
Nicklaus opened with a five-under 67 to sit two behind Gary Player and a one-under 71 in the second round lifted him into a share of the lead with Player and Arnold Palmer at the halfway stage.
The American then left his big-name rivals trailing in his wake on the Saturday with a power-packed, eight-under 64 - equalling the course record at the time - as he went five clear, and a three-under 69 in the final round elevated him nine clear of Palmer and Player.
Jim Barnes - 9 shots - 1921 US Open
Nicklaus' winning margin in 1965 equalled that of Englishman Jim Barnes when he won the third of his four majors at the 1921 US Open at Columbia Country Club in Maryland.
Barnes led from wire-to-wire on the par-70 layout as rounds of 69, 75, 73 and 72 gradually took him three, four, seven and finally nine shots clear as he finished on nine-over 289, with Walter Hagen and Fred McLeod sharing a distant second place.
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Rory McIlroy - 8 shots - 2012 PGA Championship
McIlroy surpassed the seven-stroke victory of Nicklaus in 1980 as he set the PGA Championship record at Kiawah Island with his second major success in 2012.
The Northern Irishman hovered just off the pace in the opening two rounds with a five-under 67 followed by a three-over 75 in gusty conditions.
He surged three clear with another 67 in a weather-interrupted third round before shooting a bogey-free 66, which contained only 24 putts, in the final round to finish on 13-under 275 and eight ahead of Englishman David Lynn.
Rory McIlroy - 8 shots - 2011 US Open
McIlroy's first major victory the previous year also came by eight shots in a record-breaking performance at the 2011 US Open at Congressional.
He established his dominance with a six-under 65 to lead by three after 18 holes and was six clear at halfway following a 66 in the second round.
A 68 in the third round extended McIlroy's advantage to eight and he was able to coast round in 69 blows in the final round to finish eight clear of Jason Day on 16-under 268, also becoming only the third golfer to card four sub-70 rounds in the US Open.
Martin Kaymer - 8 shots - 2014 US Open
Kaymer claimed another exceptional European victory in the 2014 US Open on the No 2 course at Pinehurst Resort as he matched McIlroy's winning margin three years later.
The German became the first man to open a major with two rounds of 65 or better with back-to-back seven-under 65s to secure a six-shot cushion at the halfway stage.
He could only manage a two-over 72 in the third round but was still five clear going into the Sunday when a 69 was good enough to see him prevail by eight from American duo Erik Compton and Rickie Fowler.
Raymond Floyd - 8 shots - 1976 Masters
Floyd led from start to finish as he won his only Masters title in 1976 with rounds of 65 and 66 putting him five clear at halfway and a 72 was good enough to extend his advantage to eight after 54 holes, his 15-under total of 201 the lowest ever.
The American added another 70 in the final round to finish on 17-under 271 and eight ahead of Ben Crenshaw.
Tiger Woods - 8 shots - 2000 Open
Last, but by no means least, is another entry for Woods who recorded the record winning margin of eight shots in The Open at St Andrews in 2000 as he completed his career Grand Slam at the age of 24.
Woods was one off the pace after a five-under 67 in the first round but went three clear after 36 holes thanks to a 66.
Rounds of 67 and 69 followed over the weekend as he cruised to victory ahead of Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els, finishing on 19-under 269.
