American Davis Love ended an 11-year wait for his first major title today when he won the United States PGA championship by five strokes at Winged Foot in New York.

And Jeff Maggert was celebrating too after grabbing a second Ryder Cup cap with a course record-equalling 65.

Love was runner-up in the 1995 Masters to Ben Crenshaw and the 1996 US Open to Steve Jones - after three-putting the final green. But this time he was not to be denied.

Starting the final day on level terms with Texan Justin Leonard, who after his triumph in the Open at Troon last month was trying to become only the 15th player in history to win two majors in a season, Love shot a third 66 of the week to Leonard's 71.

It gave him an 11 under par total of 269 - far lower than anybody was predicting at the start of the week - a first prize of almost £300,000 and immense satisfaction.

His aggregate was only two shots outside the record for any major championship, set by Greg Norman in the Open at Sandwich in 1983 and equalled by Steve Elkington and Colin Montgomerie at the US PGA two years ago.

Montgomerie had to be content with second place there after a play-off and he has now gone through another season without a major.

He finished here in a share of 13th place after a closing 72 left him on two over par and when told he was leading European the big Scot's reaction was predictable. ``Big Deal.''

Maggert, who finished third in the event two years to clinch a cup debut, had the task of coming in the top eight this time to push out Tommy Tolles.

The 33-year-old did far better than that. His 65, rounded off with three birdies in the last four holes, equalled the record mark set by Leonard in the third round and took him into third place again on four under.

Halfway leader Lee Janzen was the only other player under par, a birdie on the last taking him to one under and fourth place, a shot ahead of American Ryder Cup captain Tom Kite.

Americans, in fact, filled the top 12 places and it gave Kite plenty of food for thought before announcing his two wild card selections for Valderrama tomorrow.

Fred Couples, who like world No 1 Tiger Woods dropped to joint 29th with a last day 75, looks like taking one of them. But the other is anybody's guess.

Maggert said: ``I did everything I wanted to today. I pleased myself and that means something.

``Over the summer I've tried not to be too hard on myself on the course. Sometimes I get too serious.''

Love hardly looked back from the time that Leonard bogeyed the second after driving into rough and then he rolled in a 20-footer on the short third.

Leonard had another bogey on the next and the gap became four when he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the long fifth and Love two-putted for a second birdie.

Leonard did make a 40-footer for birdie at the short seventh, but there was another two-stroke swing on the next. Leonard chipped across the green and Love capitalised with a 10-foot birdie putt.

Leonard was out in 37 to Love's 32 and even when he holed a six-foot birdie putt on the short 10th Love responded by pitching even closer on the next.

It had been match play all the way - the best of the rest started the day seven adrift and battling for third place - and the most worrying moment for Love came on the 540-yard 12th, a hole which should have favoured him with his greater length.

Instead he drove into a horrid spot in the left rough, came up short of the green with his third and took six to Leonard's pitch-and-putt four.

Now the gap was three and when Love fired into the gallery on the short 12th he had reached crunch time. His chip was perhaps the most crucial shot of the whole day - it hit the flagstick and he was able to save par.

A heavy shower arrived at that time, but Love was not to be thrown off course. He parred his way to the last and then for good measure, with a rainbow above, sank a 15-foot birdie putt for the icing on the cake.

``It's been a long time,'' he said. ``I've come close a few times and it was hard to get through those last three holes without breaking down.

``I lost a lot of tournaments because I was pushing too hard. I will cherish this moment all my life.''

He was choking back the tears then and probably thinking of his father, a former tour player himself who died in a plane crash in 1988.

Love was playing in his 39th major and he finally cracked it with a concluding 36-hole total of 132 - two 66s - which equalled the championship record.

Montgomerie finished a stroke ahead of Bernhard Langer and two in front of Worksop's Lee Westwood, whose 73 left him 29th - his fourth successive top 30 finish in the majors this season.

Spain's Ignacio Garrido was 41st, Sam Torrance, Thomas Bjorn and Jesper Parnevik joint 45th on eight over, Per-Ulrik Johansson 67th and Italian Costantino Rocca 71st. He had been third at halfway, but after two opening 69s closed with 79 and 78.

Montgomerie said: ``I don't think too much should be read into our performance here. It all comes down to putting at the end of the day and we don't consistently putt as good as they (Americans) do.''

As for his own display he commented: ``I putted miserably all week. It was guts and determination that got me to four over. I was hooking everything today and I've a lot of work to do.''