Scottie Scheffler outlasts Patrick Cantlay to win Phoenix Open

Scottie Scheffler made light of the fairway bunker before making a 25-footer for birdie on the third playoff hole. Sahith Theegala held the lead for three days and finished in third after a gallant fight.

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Scottie Scheffler - PGA TOUR - Getty Images

14 February 2022: Scottie Scheffler outlasted Ryder Cup teammate Patrick Cantlay on the third hole of a playoff Sunday in the WM Phoenix Open, making a 25-foot birdie putt that had just enough momentum to tumble in.

Patrick Cantlay - PGA TOUR - Getty Images
Patrick Cantlay (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Cantlay missed an 11-foot birdie try after Scheffler holed his putt.

Scheffler birdied four of the final six holes for a 4-under 67 to match Cantlay at 16-under 268 at TPC Scottsdale on another sunny, 80-degree day. Cantlay, playing a group ahead of Scheffler, had a bogey-free 67.

Scheffler broke through in his 71st PGA Tour start. Before Sunday, the 25-year-old former University of Texas star’s biggest professional highlights were beating Jon Rahm in September in United States’ Ryder Cup victory at Whistling Straits and shooting a 59 in the 2020 Northern Trust.

Scheffler and Cantlay matched pars on the first two extra trips down 18, with both players hitting the fairway and green the first time and both scrambling to save par on the second.

Scheffler missed a chance to end it in regulation when his 5 1/2-foot birdie try slid right. On the stadium par-3 16th, he left a birdie putt 2 inches short.

Nine strokes back entering the weekend, Scheffler shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within two strokes of leader Sahith Theegala and get into the final group. Scheffler played the first 12 holes in even par Sunday, with four birdies and four bogeys, before the late charge.

Sahith Theegala - PGA TOUR - Getty Images
Sahith Theegala (Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

The fourth-ranked Cantlay was making his first start in the event, adding it to his schedule only because he figured it would be easier to play three straight weeks instead of traveling back and forth from Florida between two of his favorite events in California.

The FedEx Cup champion nearly left with his third victory in his last six starts. On the 18th in regulation, he left a 9-foot birdie putt short.

Theegala, the rookie who took the lead into the day, lost a share of the top spot with a bogey on the par-4 17th after driving left into the water. The 24-year-old shot a 70 to tie for third at 15 under with 2021 winner Brooks Koepka (69) and Xander Schauffele (68).

 

Associated Press