Eagle helps Lee repeat as Byron Nelson winner
K.H. Lee eagled the 12th hole to take the lead for good Sunday en route to a 9-underpar 63 and a one-shot victory over Jordan Spieth in the Byron Nelson tournament in McKinney, Texas.
Lee, the defending champion, finished at 26-under.
Lee’s career-best round overcame a four-shot deficit going into the final round. 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 shot a 67 to finish a stroke ahead of Hideki Matsuyama (62) and Sebastian 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).
A year ago, Lee was playing for a spot in the PGA Championship, where he’ll be again this coming week at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla.
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 repeat winners at the Nelson.
Leading by one, Lee made a curling 12-foot putt to save par on the par-3 17th after a short chip ran long when he tried to find his footing in the sand with the ball above his feet just outside the bunker.
Spieth missed a 9-foot birdie putt on 17 that would have pulled him even, then had to have eagle on the par-5 18th after Lee’s tap-in birdie. Spieth’s eagle chip stayed left of the hole.
“I had a good chance here, I don’t think I ever really had the lead on my own,” Spieth said. “But it would be nice to close one out.”
LPGA Tour: Minjee Lee closed with a 2-under 70 to finish at 19-under, good for a two-shot victory over Lexi Thompson in the Founders Cup in Clifton, N.J.
Lee’s seventh career title is her first since last year’s Evian Championship.
“I’ve been hitting it really, really well this whole — I mean, this whole season, and I just felt like it was kind of around the corner,” Lee said. “I kept knocking on the door, and here I am now.”
PGA Tour Champions: In Birmingham, Ala., Steve Stricker shot a 4-under 68 for a 21-under 267 total and a sixstroke victory in the Regions Tradition.
Stricker’s win came in his third event since he returned from a six-month absence for health reasons.
“It’s been a long time,” 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.”
Europe: In Antwerp, Belgium, England’s Sam Horsfield shot a 3-under 68 to finish at 13-under 271 for a two-shot win over New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Germany’s Yannik Paul in the Soudal Open.