At TPC Harding Park, Brooks Koepka has the opportunity to achieve something that hasn’t been done in golf in nearly 100 years. Koepka is looking to win the PGA Championship for the third year in a row. In 2018, Koepka held off a Sunday charge from Tiger Woods to capture his first PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club. The following year, Koepka successfully defended his title at Bethpage Black, where he took a commanding seven-stroke lead into the final round.
There’s no question that Koepka knows the elite company he could join with a victory at the PGA Championship. In March, the two-time defending champion embarked on a media tour around San Francisco wearing a Los Angeles Lakers hat, hardly a coincidence given the Lakers were the last team to win three consecutive NBA titles. Here’s a look at the other memorable teams and athletes who have enjoyed winning three times in a row.
Sir Walter Hagen wins four consecutive PGA Championships
Sir Walter Hagen holds the record as the only player to win the PGA Championship not just three but four consecutive times. Hagen won between 1924 and 1927, in addition to his first PGA Championship victory in 1921. Hagen’s record stands today as the feat hasn’t been repeated at any of the men’s major championships.
Annika Sorenstam and Inbee Park pull off the repeat
Annika Sorenstam won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship between 2003 – 2005 to become the first woman to win a major championship in three consecutive years. The feat was matched by Inbee Park, who won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship between 2013-2015, and holds the record as the last player, male or female, to win a major title three years in a row.
NBA
Famously, Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to three consecutive titles not once, but twice, pulling off the feat between 1991 – 1993 and 1996 – 1998. But it wasn’t the first time an NBA team took home three consecutive Championships, as it was previously achieved by the Minneapolis Lakers between 1952 – 1954 and by the Boston Celtics as part of their incredible streak of eight consecutive titles between 1959 - 1966. The Lakers were the last team to win three years in a row between 2000 – 2002.
MLB
Just four times in the history of Major League Baseball has a team won three consecutive World Series, and three of those occasions belong to the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers won between 1963 – 1939, 1949 and 1953 and most recently between 1998 – 2000.
