Scheffler on top of the world after repeat in Phoenix
Texan claims fifth PGA Tour title
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottie Scheffler is back to No. 1 in the world rankings after successfully defending his Phoenix Open title Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. Scheffler closed with a 6-under 65 to beat Nick Taylor by two strokes and overtake
Rory Mcilroy at the top of the world with his fifth PGA Tour victory.
Scheffler made a 22-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th to break a tie with Taylor, then took a two-shot lead on the par-3 16th with a 15-footer for par after hitting his tee shot far left on the stadium hole.
“I was just trying to hit a solid putt,” Scheffler said about the putt on 16. “In those situations that’s really all you can do. So, when I’m standing over that ball all I’m thinking about is the speed. I had my line.”
Scheffler birdied the short par-4 17th and closed with a par to finish at 19-under 265.
“I hit some wild shots off the tee that were pretty uncharacteristic for how I usually shape the ball,” Scheffler said. “I was just able to grind it out, make a lot of putts. I think I only had two bogeys this week, which is really, really good around this golf course.”
He earned $3.6 million from the $20 million purse in the first full-field event of the PGA Tour’s new designated tournaments, created to bring the top tour players together more often.
“There were a lot of guys up there,” Scheffler said. “I knew it was going to take a great round. Nobody was going to give this golf tournament to me. I had to go out and earn it.”
Last year, Scheffler beat Patrick Cantlay in a playoff for his first tour title. He added victories in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Wgc-match Play and the Masters and was the PGA Tour’s player of the year.
“I love the environment here,” Scheffler said. “It’s a lot of fun to play. I think the firmness of the golf course really suits me. Having the ability to play a lot of different shots — hit it high, hit it low.”
He’s the seventh player to successfully defend a title in the tournament, following Ben Hogan (1946-47), Jimmy Demaret (1949-50), Lloyd Mangrum (1952-53), Arnold Palmer (three straight from 1961-63), Johnny Miller (1974-75) and Hideki Matsuyama (2016-17).
Taylor also finished with a 65. He bogeyed the 16th, missing a 7-footer after Scheffler holed his par putt. Taylor’s tee shot on the 175yard 16th just caught the left edge and rolled away from the green.
“I really felt that was a great swing off the tee there,” Taylor said. “That wind was just crazy strong. I played enough for it, just obviously not quite enough. I would love the chip back on there. I felt like that was one I could potentially hole.”
Jon Rahm, who also could have moved to No. 1 with a win, was third at 14 under after a 68.
“I’m not sure I could have done much better the last two days, honestly,” Rahm said. “I didn’t feel like I made bad swings, but I put myself in bad spots.”
■ DP World: Ockie Strydom shot 9-under 63 and rallied for a one-shot victory over Sami Valimaki in the Singapore Classic. Strydom had the low round of the day at Laguna National Golf Resort Club and finished at 19-under 269 for his second win on the European tour. He also won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in December.
Valimak shot a 6-under 66 to finish one stroke behind Strydom.