Koepka eagles 17, rallies to win Phoenix Open

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Brooks Koepka chipped in from 32 yards for eagle on the 17th hole to break a tie for the lead and then parred the last for a one-stroke victory Sunday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Five strokes behind Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele entering the round, Koepka shot a 6under 65 to finish at 19under 265. The four-time major champion also won in 2015 at TPC Scottsdale for the first of his eight PGA Tour titles.

On the 334-yard 17th, Koepka hit a fairway wood 305 yards to the fairway short and left of the green, then holed out to the largest roar of the day from the crowd limited to 5,000 a day — a fraction of the usual size but the most on tour during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back at full strength after lingering left knee and hip problems, Koepka rebounded from a bogey on the second with an eagle on the par-5 third and birdied Nos. 13-15.

Schauffele birdied the par-4 18th for a 71 to tie for second with Kyoung-Hoon Lee (68). The fourth-ranked Schauffele tied for second last week at Torrey Pines.

Lee birdied 17 to pull within one of Koepka, but drove right on the par-4 18th and had his 34-foot birdie try slide by on the high side.

Steve Stricker, the 53year-old U.S. Ryder Cup captain who was trying to become the oldest winner on the PGA Tour, shot a 67 to tie for fourth with Spieth (72) and Carlos Ortiz (64) at 17 under.

Spieth and Schauffele struggled from the start, with Spieth bogeying the first hole after nearly driving into a desert bush. They each had two bogeys on the front nine, with Schauffele making the only birdie between the two on the front side on No. 9.

Schauffele and Spieth each drove into the water on 17 to end their chances, then both birdied 18.