Tiger Woods chased down Jack Nicklaus's all-time record when he claimed his fourth US PGA Championship and his 13th Major title at Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The World Number One is now only five Majors behind Nicklaus, who won his 18th and final title at the age of 46. Woods, a mere stripling of 31, has time on his side to make history, having accumulated his 13 Majors in the space of a decade.
Woods shot a final round of 69 for an eight under par total of 272, good enough to see off the determined challenges of his fellow American Woody Austin and South Africa's Ernie Els, who closed with 67 and 66 respectively.
Austin claimed the runner-up spot on 274 with three-time Major Champion Els in third place one stroke further back. England's Simon Dyson was the leading European on level par 280 after shooting a best of the day 64 for a share of sixth spot.
Woods, who started the final day three shots clear of the field and bidding to avoid a calendar year without a Major, maintained his advantage all through another numbingly hot day in Tulsa, although Austin and Els refused to lie down without a scrap.
Els, chasing the Wanamaker Trophy to set alongside his two US Opens and Open Championship, threw down the gauntlet with four birdies in the first ten holes. However, a bogey at the 12th halted the momentum. Back to back birdies at the next two holes helped his cause but one more dropped shot at the 16th proved fatal.
Austin, meanwhile, launched a potential title-winning charge with a hat-trick of birdies from the 11th, including a monster putt at the 12th which sent huge cheers reverberating around the premises.
However, Woods always had his nose in front, helped by successive birdies at the seventh and eighth which drew the familiar 'fist pumps'. It seemed that the title was his as he reached nine under par, three ahead of his challengers.
Not so. A dropped shot at the ninth and another at the 14th hinted that the defending champion might be vulnerable. Suddenly he was only one ahead, but, typically, Woods drilled a perfect approach to within 15 feet at the 15th and rolled in the birdie putt to put crucial daylight between himself, Austin and Els.
The coronation was completed soon afterwards as Woods played the last thee holes in level par. A wife Elin and baby daughter Sam sheltered from the 110 degree heat nearby, a three footer for a four at the last signalled a victory salute.
It was Woods' fourth US PGA Championship (1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007) to set alongside his four Masters Tournaments, two US Opens and three Open Championships.
"This one feels more special than the others because my family was here" said Woods, who needs one more Wanamaker Trophy to equal the record of five set by Walter Hagen and Nicklaus. "This has turned 2007 into a great year. I didn't quite get the job done in the first two Majors but this time I did."
After seeing his lead reduced to one stroke with four to play, Woods gave himself "a good yelling" on the way to the 15th tee. Three perfect shots later, one hand was on the trophy.
"After that mishap on the 14th, I felt I had given back all the momentum to Ernie and Woody - but I still had the lead. when I made the putt on 15 I felt I got the momentum back and felt that if I cuold win in I would win, which is what happened. I knew they needed birdies to come and get me."
Els was understandably disappointed at seeing his chance disappear. He watched two makeable birdie attempts at the ninth and 11th slip past and he admitted: "If I could have the putts on nine and 11 back along with the drive on 16, it would have been a really perfect round of golf.
"I am not quite where I want to be - but I'm getting there. My plan is to play at a really high level and I've played two good Majors this year. I had a really good chance at The Open which I didn't quite take.
"To come back from six behind the World Number One today was always going to be tough to do, but I gave it a good shot.
Meanwhile Dyson savoured his first US PGA Championship by firing a final round 64 to propel himself into the top ten before Woods had reached the first tee.
The 29 year old plundered a seven-birdie haul from the demanding Tulsa course to finish with a level par total of 280 just as Woods was getting into the right mental mode to defend his title and a three shot lead over the field.
The two-time European Tour champion opened with a brace of birdies and closed out his round with the best of the bunch, a three wood and six iron to 20 feet at the last.
Suddenly, from being at the back of the field, Dyson found himself facing the world’s press in the Media Centre and explaining just how he managed to shoot the round of his life following a three week break.
Dyson, playing in only his second Major in the United States after missing the cut in the 2005 US Open, felt in urgent need of recharging his batteries and said: “I put my clubs away for two weeks and didn’t touch them. I didn’t do anything really other than go to the gym, have a few nights out with my mates and take my girlfriend away for a few days.
“I took the break because I think I had played something like 24 tournaments and had only two weeks off in three months. Nothing felt good. My head was somewhere it shouldn’t have been. I thought I needed the recharge the batteries and get my appetite back.
“I came back to started practising again and it actually felt pretty good. Today’s round, though, is a dream come true. My six iron to the last was probably my best shot of the day and I knew that I had a chance to get back to level par. To shoot 64 here is really special.”
With the top 15 and ties earning an exemption to the 2008 Championship, Dyson was entitled to feel satisfied with his week’s work, as was another Englishman, Lee Westwood, who shot a two under par 68 for a final total of 286, six over par.
Westwood, one of only seven players to make the cut in all four Majors in 2007 along with Paul Casey, Niclas Fasth, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose, admitted that it had been “not a bad week” but added: “I would like to contend more. It’s a good achievement to make all four cuts but people don’t remember who makes all four.
"I am not hitting as many wild shots but I’ve not made enough putts. I made a couple from two feet for birdie but missed a lot of 12 to 20 footers. It’s gradually improving. I feel I’m much closer in the Majors. I’ve been in decent position but not shot the rounds when I needed to. Just a matter of putting four good rounds together.”
Of the five Europeans who played in all four rounds of the four Majors, Rose emerged with the most impressive record. a last round of 69 for 282, two over par, left the Englishman in a share of 12th place to follow his tied fifth in the Masters, tied tenth in the US Open and tied 12th in The Open Championship.
Rose finished alongside Anders Hansen of Denmark, to whom he lost in a play-off for the BMW PGA Championship, and admitted that it has been a rewarding season in the four 'big ones' and said: "I think I prepared well for the Majors. I've been fresh for them and next year I intend doing the same. Golf-wise I have to keep getting a little bit better. it's a fine line.
"I am obviously a better player, but I would say mentally is the biggest improvement. I didn't play all that well but I made sensible decisions, which a year or two ago I might have struggled to make."
After a stint in the United States, Rose aims to return to Europe for a run of tournaments, beginning with the Seve Trophy and continuing with the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the HSBC World Match Play Championship, the Portugal Masters and the Volvo Masters.
Casey closed with a 71 for a seven over par total of 287 while Fasth concluded a successful year in the Majors with a level par 70 for 288, eight over. Poulter's closing 71 left him on 285, five over par.
Open Champion Padraig Harrington left Southern Hills for Florida and a well deserved holiday, and just like the previous day, he felt out of sorts and without a great deal of fuel left in the tank. Harrington ended up with a 74 to join Fasth on 288.
First round leader Graeme Storm’s US PGA Championship adventure ended with a final round of 78 for a 13 under par aggregate of 293.
