Six things we learned from the US PGA Championship

Jason Day went out and won this PGA
The 27-year-old Australian, who had previously recorded nine top-10 finishes in the majors – six of them in the top four – answered a lot of questions with this victory. “He was sitting there swinging as hard as he could off the tee,” Jordan Spieth said, adding: “I mean, power to him. He played like he had won seven or eight majors before.” There was no protecting his lead or watching the scoreboards for Day – he attacked Whistling Straits, just as he had for the previous three days, and it paid off. With eight holes left, he hit an absolute bomb that went 382 yards right down the middle. At that point, Spieth said “hope was lost.” “Holy ****!” was all Day could muster.

-20 is a new record major score
Day smashed the PGA Championship record for strokes under par, and bettered the winning scores at the previous PGAs at Whistling Straits in 2010 (Martin Kaymer, 11 under) and 2004 (Vijay Singh, 8 under). But more importantly for the history books, his total also set a new record for the most under par in a major championship history, beating Tiger Woods’ total at the 2000 Open at St Andrews by one. 

Day’s caddie is more like his dad
Jason Day long-time caddie Col Swatton has been at the Aussie’s side for his entire career, making their relationship one of the closest on the PGA Tour. In fact, Swatton has known Day since he was a teenager, taking him under his wing when Day’s father died of cancer. He could easily have gone off the rails, drinking when he was 12, but Swatton guided him through those difficult years and the pair came out of the other side even closer. “On the 18th, all I said was, “I love you,’” Swatton said after the round. “And he loves me, and we were just a blubbering mess. It was pretty cool.”

Spieth is a really classy guy
From the thumbs-up he gave Day after his rival lagged a long putt close on 17th to the off-camera applause by the 18th as Day claimed the title, Jordan Spieth oozed class at Whistling Straits. Spieth called Day’s performance “a clinic.” “It’s by far the best loss I think I’ve ever had,” he added. 

Look out Tiger, Jordan is coming
After winning the Masters and the US Open, the 22-year-old was trying to become only the third player – and the first since Woods in 2000 – to win three majors in the same year. He carded a 68 to complete his 16 rounds at this year’s major tournaments in 54 under, another record he took off Tiger. He set the record spree rolling in April by tying Tiger’s Masters record of 18 under. On Sunday evening, Woods wrote on Twitter: “Very happy for Jason. Great dude and well deserved. Hats off to Jordan, incredible season.”

We have a new world No.1
Rory McIlroy, who shot a 69 for a 17th-place finish on his return from injury, has spent a total of 93 weeks as the world’s top male golfer (and 55 in a row) before Spieth supplanted him on Sunday evening. Beforehand, he said: “If he was to get to No. 1 today, I’d be the first to congratulate him because I know the kind of golf you have to play to get to that spot.” Spieth said: “To be No. 1 as a team is fantastic. It certainly was a lifelong goal of mine that was accomplished today.”