Elkington proves he can still kick it with the young guns

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Steve Elkington kicked his leg up after a putt on the 16th lipped out during the final round.

His birth certificate says he's 47, but Steve Elkington had to feel 74 the last two days as he was battling -- and almost beating -- guys half his age during the 92nd PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

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In a year where youth has risen to the forefront on the PGA TOUR, there was Elkington on Sunday, trying to become the second-oldest major champion in golf history and the longest between championships (15 years). Even before he teed off in the final round, he knew he was going to have his hands full holding off the new kids on the links.

"Those guys get in the way a little bit," Elkington said Saturday. "There's a lot of them."

But Elkington wasn't about to get shoved aside Sunday as he tried to take a seat next to Julius Boros (who was 48 when he won the 1968 PGA Championship). Fact is, had Elkington's 15-foot eagle putt at the 16th hole stayed in the left side of the cup instead of taking a left-hand turn over the edge, the Australian would have been leading the PGA at 12-under -- a score that ultimately would have won him the championship.

"I hit a real good putt that looked like it went through the hole," Elkington told reporters afterward. "That was agony, to be honest with you. Painful."

Elkington was so certain the ball was going in the hole, he did his familiar routine of kicking his right leg in the air, just as he had done after a key birdie in the third round and so many other times when he was in contention during his 25-year career.

You do that on the Champions Tour, and you risk calling 911. But Elkington can still kick like the Rockettes.

But more pain was inflicted when Elkington bogeyed Whistling Strait's brutish final two holes, settling for a fifth-place tie -- his best finish in a major since a second at the 2005 PGA and his best showing on the PGA TOUR since a T4 at the 2008 FBR Open.

He saw a stellar 3-iron at the 17th land in jail behind the hole, leading to a bogey that dropped him out of the lead. Elkington's chances evaporated when he three-putted the 72nd hole from 70 feet.

While his strong showing seemed to come out of nowhere -- he was ranked 300th in the Official World Golf Ranking coming into the PGA -- it shouldn't have been a great surprise. For some reason, Elkington always plays well in the season's final major.

Not only did he win his lone major when he beat Colin Montgomerie in a playoff at the 1995 PGA at Riviera, he was T2 to Phil Mickelson at Baltrusol in 2005 and third at both the 2008 and 2006 PGAs.

"I'm always hanging around at the PGA," said Elkington, who improved to No. 183 in the latest world rankings.

Some may say Elkington has been hanging around professional golf for a while, considering all 10 of his PGA TOUR victories came in the 1990s, including a pair of THE PLAYERS Championships (1991, 1997).

When this guy wins, he doesn't mess around. He also won twice at TPC Blue Monster, the second one, in 1999, serving as his last victory on the PGA TOUR. (As a side note, I was at that event and I distinctly remember Elkington kicking the scoring trailer when he thought a six-straight-birdie performance had come up short; it hadn't.)

"I had a great '90s," Elkington said. "I didn't do much in the last decade, so I'm glad that's over with, you know?"

Elkington's career was slowed by allergies -- he had an allergy to grass, which isn't exactly a good thing for a golfer. But he finally found a cure. "Once they invented Allegra six or seven years ago, my allergies are history," he said. "It was a miracle drug for me."

Then his career was slowed by indifference. While he's long had one of the most-admired swings in golf, Elkington also has a unique cerebral side. How about these eclectic interests: Caricature drawing, fishing, hunting and gardening.

"Over the course of a long career, you can't be up all the time but I have more energy for golf now than I've had in a few years, because I see the Champions Tour is about three years away," said Elkington. "I don't think of myself as an old guy. I still play good."

Elkington, a player who rose to a career-best No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking in 1997, admits he has little use for indifferent play. He can't stand the Jekyll/Hyde nature of golf.

"I had rounds where I played one day like Sam Sneed, the next day like Sam Sausage," he said. "It's a bit of a journey, you know, playing out here as you get a bit older and your focus can change to your family and kids growing up. Golf is not as important to me as it was, but it's still important to me, and I try to do as well as I can."

Elkington is only 2 ½ years away from the Champions Tour, but he showed at the PGA he can still play with the world's best. Fact is, Elkington made it clear he'd rather play with the world's top players.

"I know I always get excited to play with the best players," he said. "I played with all of these No. 1s, you know; I got like a book of them. I played with Jack (Nicklaus) and Arnold (Palmer) and Greg Norman and (Nick) Faldo ... all of those guys were No. 1. For me, I can't wait to get into that group, because I want to see what they are doing. I've always thought it brings the best golf out in you -- for me, anyway."

Elkington knows he still has some game left. After finishing T10 at Turning Stone the previous week, he has his first consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR since 2001. Sunday's finish moved him to 63rd in the FedExCup standings with a week left, but that's not his primary motivation.

"I'd like to get my hands on a trophy," he said. "That's what I'm looking for."

Elkington came oh, so close Sunday. But there were no regrets afterward.

He wasn't kicking himself over this one.

Craig Dolch is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.