Golf’s last major of the season came my way this past weekend, so I attended the final round of the PGA Championship at Baltusrol on Sunday in New Jersey.

Skinny, long-hitting Texan Jimmy Walker became the fifth consecutive first-time major winner in thrilling, down-to-the-wire fashion at the water-logged course in Springfield. Chants of “USA, USA, USA…” boomed from the boisterous, muddy-splats-on-the-legs crowd as Walker made a nerve-wracking par on the final hole.

It rained all four days this tournament was contested. The nearest official NWS station in Newark measured a trace, .87 inches, .36 inches and .71 inches on days 1-4 not to mention 1.84 inches of precip on the Monday before play officially started.

Nicklaus won the US Open at Baltusrol in ’67 and ’80 and Phil won the PGA Championship there in 2005. That was the last time before this year a major was played at Baltusrol’s historic lower course famous for its two closing par-5’s.

Rain – and the threat of lightning – forced the PGA to shut things down early Saturday afternoon which made for a real scramble on Sunday. Walker, Jason Day and eight others played 36 holes on Sunday despite periods of heavy rain throughout the middle portion of the day.

Reporters covering the event – most notably Jason Sobel at ESPN.com and John Harper of the Daily News were harshly and unfairly critical of PGA honcho Kerry Haigh for not starting Saturday’s round earlier to beat that day’s predicted rain – and avoid the crammed-in effort on Sunday.

It turns out Haigh’s planning was very much vindicated after the way it played out. Despite the format’s inability to re-pair after completion of the third round, Walker won wire-to-wire with Day in the twosome just ahead of him. That dynamic allowed those two to chase and tangle with each other just a hole apart with the Wanamaker awarded before it got dark on Sunday.

At the news conference after it was over, Walker sipped what appeared to be a glass of white wine – or champagne while answering questions from the New York-centric golf media. He said he went to his bus between rounds on Sunday. Walker said he took a hot shower, got a therapeutic rub-down and took a short nap to regain energy for the final round which must have been tiring given the sloshy footing throughout.

Walker was congratulated personally by Ricky Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Day as he made his way to the scoring table after winning the tournament. That kind of sportsmanship and camaraderie is something you seem to see more of now in pro golf.

Part of me wished I was watching on TV as the tournament wound down. It’s very difficult to follow the action and scoring as it plays out over a venue so expansive. But as I’ve pieced together what I witnessed while reflecting on it the last couple of days, I’m really glad I went.

I saw the winner make a clutch bird on 17. I saw Day blow his approach on 3 and bounce a ball off the shoulder of a fan in the gallery. I saw the crowd at 18 green go totally wild when Beef finished his round with a birdie putt. I spent a lot of time at the tee box at 18 and watched guys like Streb and Kisner and Aaron Baddeley blast balls down that beautiful fairway in a rainstorm.

I saw Spieth hit a long drive on 5 that sunk deep into the ground when it landed. That’s another thing Haigh got heat for. He allowed players to lift, clean and place given the bog the course had become. If any of the golf writers (like Sobel) moaning about that special one-day rule change could see Spieth’s ball on 5, they would totally get why players got that privilege, major or not.

Beer and food were sold at well below prices seen at the ballpark or football stadium. Bathrooms and concession stands dotted the course. The fans were rowdy for sure. 24-ounce cans were the standard and a lot of guys were smoking stogies. Course officials were way overmatched trying to enforce rules on fan decorum as it relates to cell phone use and verbalizing during shot-making.

I have no real complaints about the event’s logistics. If anything, I felt like there should be larger seating galleries on the important holes like 18 and 17. There also seemed to be way too many motorized vehicles on the cart paths. Only a select few should be allowed to ride carts on paved passageways that became extra important given the moisture in the sod.

Baltusrol is located smack dab in the heart of well-kept, upper crust residential neighborhoods. The roads in the vicinity are hilly, curvy and narrow so I was amazed at how well organizers moved the crowd in and out. I bought my ticket almost a year in advance so I don’t remember what I paid for it. I’ve not seen official attendance figures but I’d estimate 40-thousand plus were there and I got in and out no problem via shuttle bus. Volunteers at NJ Transit’s Summit station herded fans on to a fleet of waiting deluxe charter buses (mostly operated by Academy) and we were dropped near a path about a ten-minute walk to the club’s admission gates. NJ Transit covered their end of the deal with aplomb, selling round-trip train tickets in advance via the web.

I’ve long heard tales about the “roars” at Augusta – and I must say that I heard those same “roars” at Baltusrol many times over during the day Sunday. Often times, I had no idea what prompted the loud, echoing cheers in the distance but to hear them made me feel really good.

I’d go back for a major the next time one comes. It’s not like watching it on TV but I saw and felt enough to deepen my admiration for the game and its players.