Lee shoots 63, wins back-to-back at Nelson
Stricker captures senior major, goes wire-towire in Alabama
McKINNEY, Texas — K.H. Lee ran across the fairway to try to get a better view of the key shot in his second consecutive victory in the Byron Nelson.
The South Korean must have known it would be close, same as the low-scoring drama around him that included hometown favorite Jordan Spieth and a couple of other major winners in Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Thomas.
Lee’s 240-yard shot on the par-5 12th hole stopped less than 5 feet from the pin, and the eagle put him in front for good Sunday on the way to a 9-under 63 and a one-shot victory over Spieth at birdiebesieged TPC Craig Ranch.
Spieth shot a 67 to finish a stroke ahead of Matsuyama (62) and Sebastián Muñoz (69), who held or shared the lead the first three rounds.
Xander Schauffele had a career-best 61 and tied for fifth with Ryan Palmer (66) and Thomas (67), who was part of an eight-way tie for the lead at 20 under early in the final round.
A year ago, Lee was playing for a spot in the PGA Championship, where he’ll be again next week at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
This time it was for a place in history as the 30-year-old joined Sam Snead (1957-58), Jack Nicklaus (1970-71) and Tom Watson (1978-80) as the only repeat winners at the Nelson.
Lee’s career-best round overcame a four-shot deficit going into the final round and put him at 26 under, one shot better than last year. Both of his PGA Tour wins have come at the Nelson.
“It still feels like I’m dreaming,” said Lee, a first-time winner as a father after his wife was pregnant when he won last year. “Last year and this year, to make a good memory.”
Spieth had to settle for another career-best finish in the event he so badly wants to win, a year after the threetime major champion was ninth but never really close in a disappointing final round.
“I love playing at home. I would love to win it some day,” said Spieth, who won his previous start at Hilton Head the week after the Masters. “I had a good chance here, I don’t think I ever really had the lead on my own. But it would be nice to close one out.”
With short par 4s and reachable par 5s, the birdies never stopped at TPC Craig Ranch, the second-year home of the Nelson.
There were 2,228 birdies after 2,007 a year ago, which was the most on tour last season. Eagles were plentiful, too. Last year, six players reached 20 under. This time it was 14.
LPGA: In Clifton, N.J., LPGA scoring leader Minjee Lee made her only three birdies on the back nine and held off Lexi Thompson by two strokes in the Cognizant Founders Cup for her first victory of the year.
The 25-year-old Australian took the lead for good with a birdie on the par-5 14th hole at Upper Montclair Country Club. She closed with a 2-under 70, her only round not in the 60s, for a 72-hole total of 19-under 269 in the event that honors the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour.
Lee won her seventh career title and first since taking her first major last year in the Evian Championship.
Looking for her first LPGA Tour win since 2019, Thompson closed with six straight pars for a 69.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS:
In Birmingham, Ala., Steve Stricker completed at a wire-to-wire victory in the Regions Tradition, closing with a 4-under 68 for a six-stroke victory and his fourth PGA Tour Champions major title.
Stricker’s second Tradition win at Greystone Golf & Country Club came in his third event since returning from a six-month absence for health reasons. Two straight birdies punctuated the dominant performance.
“It’s been a long time,” the emotional Stricker said. “I hate crying, but where I was last November and even a couple of months ago — to come full-circle here, it means a lot.”
He had his 20th consecutive round under par on the Founder’s Course, finishing at 21-under 267 for his eighth victory over the 50-and-over tour.
Paidrag Harrington finished second after a 68.