Koepka scores 1-stroke win at 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 6-under 65 to finish at 19-under 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 53-year-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).
