Brooks Koepka hit a 32-yard low shot for the eagle on the 17th hole, taking the lead, closing with a par on the final hole to take Sunday’s win with a stroke difference at the Phoenix Open.
Five strokes behind Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele at the start of the round, Koepka signed a card of 65 strokes, 6 under field par, to finish with a cumulative 365, 19 under par. The four-major winner also made his mark at TPC Scottsdale in 2015, for the first of his eight PGA Tour titles.
Back in full force after persistent knee and hip ailments, Koepka bounced back from a bogey on the second hole. He did it with an eagle on the third hole of par 5 and birdies between the 13 and 15.
Schauffele birdied the 18th hole at par 4 to finish with 71 shots and tie for the second group with Kyoung-Hoon Lee (68). Schauffele also shared second place last week at Torey Pines.
Steve Stricker, the 53-year-old captain of the United States Ryder Cup team who was trying to become the oldest champion on the tour, finished with a round of 67 to tie in the fourth group with Spieth (72) and the Mexican. Carlos Ortiz (64).
Spieth and Schauffele had a hard time from the start. Spieth had a bogey on the first hole after coming close to falling into the desert brush. They both had bogeys on their first nine holes.
Schauffele and Spieth dumped balls into the water on the 17th hole and had no chance of winning.
Spieth finished Saturday with 61 shots to share the lead. Winless since winning the British Open in 2017, the 27-year-old American is trying to regain the form that led him to 11 wins – three in the majors – in his first five years on the tour.
