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It took three extra trips down 18 and final 26 feet to make birdie to finally end Scottie Scheffler’s journey to capture his first PGA Tour win. The epic crowds at TPC Scottsdale roared as the 25-year-old Texan drained his birdie putt to beat world No. 4 Patrick Cantlay at the WM Phoenix Open.
Scheffler started the final round two shots behind third-round leader Sahith Theegala after recording the round of the week on Saturday, tying the back-nine record (29) at TPC Scottsdale en route to a 9-under 62. He made birdie on four of his last five holes to finish with a 4-under 67 and 16-under 268 total.
“I’ve been playing great, and I was getting so frustrated because I was scoring so poorly,” said Scheffler, who was named to the U.S. Ryder Cup team despite having a PGA Tour win. “To kind of put things together yesterday and get through all the mistakes I made today and still pull it out is pretty … amazing.”
Cantlay started Sunday in the same position at two back, looking to become the first player to win in Phoenix in his debut since two-time winner Brooks Koepka in 2015. He finished with a flawless, four-birdie 67 to reach the clubhouse first at 16 under.
“I didn’t make any bogeys, and I hit a lot of good putts and didn’t really get anything to go in all day,” said Cantlay, the reigning FedExCup champ and a six-time Tour winner. “Scottie obviously played really well this weekend and deserves to win.”
Prior to the 72nd-hole drama by Scheffler and Cantlay, Tour rookie Theegala shared the spotlight as he aimed to become the first sponsor exemption to win on Tour since Martin Laird in 2020. The 24-year-old Theegala, who is 9-for-19 in cuts made this season, held the 36- and 54-hole lead before finishing T-3 with Xander Schauffele and defending champion Koepka.
Theegala made four birdies and three bogeys during his 1-under 70 on Sunday, including a heartbreaker at 17 that dropped him out of a tie for the lead.
“There were so many different emotions to take in,” said Theegala, who had experienced being out front before at the Sanderson Farms Championship, where he held at least a share of the lead through the first three rounds before finishing T-8.
“I feel like me and my caddie, Carl, did a really good job of kind of using the adrenaline properly and just trying to enjoy every moment of it. It was a lot of fun out there today, for sure.”
Theegala, who ranked as high as No. 3 while he was an amateur and won the 2020 Haskins Award, Jack Nicklaus Award and Ben Hogan Award as college golf’s top player, opened with rounds off 66-64 to take the lead into the weekend. He embraced the party-like atmosphere and boldly sported a Pepperdine basketball jersey during the third round, encouraging cheers en route to a 69 and a one-stroke lead.
He had the support of friends and family, too, including his parents, who were in the gallery; and surprise appearances from his brother, who in flew in from New Jersey for the final round, and his former coach, who drove in from Los Angeles.
“Going to go give my family a big hug and tell them thanks and all that, but obviously really excited about next week, getting a spot to my hometown event,” said Theegala about earning a start in next week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera. “I can’t wait for that one.”
After starting the final round one back, Koepka birdied three of his last four holes Sunday to shoot 69 and come up one short of making the playoff. Also finishing third was Xander Schauffele, who was looking to become the first player since Dustin Johnson at the 2020 Masters to win on Tour after finishing runner-up the year prior. Schauffele, ranked No. 8, finished with a bogey-free 68 on Sunday to reach 15-under.
“I think some were questioning me playing this week after coming back from the Middle East, but I play well on this property, and someday I’ll win here,” said Schauffele, who finished T-18 the week prior at the Saudi International.
Rounding out the top 10 were Billy Horschel and Sweden’s Alen Noren, who were T-6 at 14 under, with world No. 7 Justin Thomas and No. 10 Hideki Matsuyama at T-18 (13 under). World No. 1 and Arizona State grad Jon Rahm started the final round seven strokes back and finished T-10. His 67 on Sunday featured an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch over holes 13-15. Also finishing T-10 at 12-under were Patton Kissire, Matt Fitzpatrick and Keith Mitchell.
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Ace mania: Carlos Ortiz, Sam Ryder deliver thrills at TPC Scottsdale’s 16th
Sam Ryder turned up the volume at the already crazy par-3 16th on Saturday, hitting a 54-degree wedge from just 124 yards to card the first ace on tour and the first of the week at the Phoenix Open. Less that 24 hours later, Carlos Ortiz made another hole-in-one at the raucous par-3, hitting a 9-iron from 179 yards out.
The two aces marked just the second time there have been holes-in-one at 16 in the same week: In 1997, Tiger Woods made one in the third round, while Steve Stricker made ace at 16 in the final round. Ortiz’s ace on 16 was the 11th all-time at the wild par-3 16th.
Ryder celebrated with playing partners Chris Kirk and Brian Harmann, their caddies and even made sure to grab the ball to gift to his parents, who were watching from gallery in Phoenix. Ortiz swapped high-fives with playing partners Kevin Kisner and Joseph Bramlett and their caddies, as the crowd managed to turn up the volume even more.
“I’m going to enjoy it,” Ryder said Saturday. “I want to make sure I take care of the media center and the maintenance and stuff like that, buy some drinks so that everyone can enjoy that, and they can send me the bill for that. But I’m probably just going to try and rest up and have a good day (Sunday).”
Ortiz wasn’t done making noise on Sunday, either, draining an eagle putt from 12 feet, 9 inches at the par-4 17th hole to mark the first time a player has made back-to-back eagles on Tour this season. It also was the second time in as many seasons that Ortiz has accomplished the feat after recording back-to-back eagles at the Sony Open in Hawaii last year.
Up next: The Genesis Invitational
World No. 10 and FedExCup leader Hideki Matsuyama is joined by the other top-nine golfers in the world as the Tour heads back to California and the venerable Riviera Country Club, which hosts the Genesis Invitational for the 59th time.
Following the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions that kicked off the calendar year, the Genesis marks the first “invitational” event of the season, with a limited field of 120 players. Max Homa (T-14 in Phoenix) returns to defend his 2021 crown while, world No. 2 Collin Morikawa is looking to take capitalize on his local knowledge as a fellow Californian.
World No. 5 Dustin Johnson, who won at Riviera in 2017, is aiming to draw on past success has he guns for his first top-10 result since the Tour Championship in September. World No. 18 Tony Finau, who lost in a playoff to Homa at Riviera last year, has finished runner-up at the Genesis twice and looks to rebound from a missed cut in Phoenix.
Last year at Riviera, Homa earned his second career Tour title in a two-hole playoff over Finau, making par at the par-3 14th to win after the Utahan failed to get up and down. The runner-up result marked Finau’s 10th runner-up finish on Tour since his maiden victory at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. Third-round leader Sam Burns (MC in Phoenix) finished third, one shot back of Homa and Finau, after making three bogeys over four holes on his back nine.
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