Rickie Fowler won the Phoenix Open on Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz., closing with a hard-earned 3-over 74 to beat Branden Grace by two strokes. It's the fifth PGA Tour victory for the 30-year-old American.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Standing above a greenside bunker at TPC Scottsdale's difficult par-4 11th hole, Rickie Fowler turned in time to see his golf ball, one he had just placed after a penalty, trickle into the water.
Fowler had already experienced his share of bad luck at the Phoenix Open in previous editions of the tournament, and now balls were rolling into hazards on their own.
Unable to catch a break, Fowler took it upon himself to create his own.
He shook off a bizarre triple bogey on No. 11 with clutch shots down the stretch Sunday, finally winning the tournament title that had eluded him despite two previous favorable opportunities.
"I didn't think it would be easy, but the way I was playing this week, I thought it would have been easier," Fowler said. "It was kind of grind-it-out. I had a couple of tough breaks and had to deal with the punches - a couple big ones - but it feels good now."
After a pair of 64s and a 65, Fowler closed with a 3-over 74 - the highest final round by a Phoenix Open winner - on a soggy day after conditions were pristine earlier in the event. He finished at 17-under 267 to beat South Africa's Branden Grace (69) by two shots for his fifth PGA Tour title.
Fourth-ranked Justin Thomas (72) finished third at 14 under, two strokes ahead of a fourth-place trio: Matt Kuchar (75), Chez Reavie (68) and Bubba Watson (71).
Fowler had another over-par round with a 54-hole lead - he's 7-for-7 there - but birdied two of his final four holes to win from the third-round lead for the second time, with the 2017 Honda Classic the other. The 30-year-old American, who is 14th in the World Golf Ranking, also had a double bogey on the par-4 fifth hole, becoming the first PGA Tour player since 1983 to win with a double bogey and a triple bogey or worse.
"He really dug down and pulled it off," Grace said.
Fowler has experienced his share of heartbreak at the Phoenix Open. He had the 54-hole lead last year and shot a 2-over 73 to finish six shots behind Gary Woodland. In 2016, Fowler blew a two-shot lead with two holes to go before losing in a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama, twice hitting it into the water on the drivable par-4 17th.
None of it compared to what happened to him Sunday. Leading by four to start the day, he was up five shots stepping onto the tee on No. 11. His lead was one after a bizarre sequence of events at the long par 4.
With rain picking up, Fowler hit his approach shot right of the green and his chip skipped past the flag into the water, incurring a two-shot penalty. He dropped next to a bunker and, as he stood on the green surveying his next shot, his ball rolled back into the water without being touched.
PGA Tour rules official Slugger White determined Fowler's ball was in play after the drop, so he was assessed a one-shot penalty. Fowler got up and down from there, knocking in a 17-foot putt for a triple-bogey 7 - his seventh double bogey or worse when playing with a 54-hole lead.
"That was a big kind of turnaround," Fowler said. "At worst I make bogey with a semi-decent chip and I'm still very much in control of the tournament. But with everything that happened there, that was a (four-) shot swing pretty quickly."
Grace made a 50-foot birdie putt just ahead on the par-3 12th, and they were tied at 15 under when Fowler couldn't get up and down from the bunker on the same hole. Grace went up one with a three-foot birdie putt on No. 13.
They were tied again after 15, and Fowler was up two shots through 17, but then Grace got up and down for par on the final hole. Fowler pulled his tee shot on 18 left, landing in the tall grass between the church pew bunkers. He hacked the ball out short of the green and got up and down for the long-awaited victory.
He was glad to have it, though not eager to relive it.
"I never want to go through anything like that again," Fowler said. "That was not fun."
Keith Mitchell, the only one of the four former Baylor School standouts currently on the PGA Tour to make the cut, closed with a 74, his third of the tournament. He shot a 67 in the second round to advance to the weekend.
Dustin Johnson triumphs in Saudi Arabia
KING ABDULLAH ECONOMIC CITY, Saudi Arabia - Dustin Johnson closed with a 3-under 67 to win the Saudi International by two strokes over China's Li Haotong.
Johnson, a 34-year-old American who is No. 3 in the World Golf Ranking, finished at 19-under 261 to earn his sixth European Tour victory. The PGA Tour regular has 19 wins on that circuit.
This triumph came by holding off Li, who had made four eagles in the third round to share the 54-hole lead with Johnson, who was alone in first after two days at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club. The 23-year-old Li closed with a 69 and finished a shot ahead of England's Tom Lewis (65).
Johnson had five birdies in his final round, including his last two holes.
"Anytime you can win a professional golf tournament, no matter where it is in the world, it's a big win. I'm honored to be the champion," Johnson said. "Haotong was one ahead on the back nine, but I knew I was playing well enough to make up some strokes and I didn't let it bother me. I just played my game and kept on trying to make birdies."
Australia's Min Woo Lee (63), in just his second pro start, was fourth at 15-under 265, a stroke ahead of fifth-place Alexander Levy of France, who closed with a 65.
Fifth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau, a 25-year-old American who won the Dubai Desert Classic the week before, was part of a five-way tie for sixth at 11 under. He closed with a 65.
Mark Anderson endures long day for Web.com win
BOGOTA, Colombia - Mark Anderson won the rain-delayed Country Club de Bogota Championship for his second Web.com Tour title, playing 27 holes in 5 under for a four-stroke victory over Drew Weaver.
Anderson completed a third-round 66 and shot a 67 in the final round to finish at 17-under 266 on the Fundadores Course. The 32-year-old Anderson, a former University of South Carolina player, also won the tour's 2013 BMW Charity Pro-Am.
Weaver also closed with a 67 as he finished a stroke ahead of Doug Ghim (68) and Tyler McCumber (70), with three golfers another stroke back in fifth: Derek Fathauer (64), Andrew Novak (68) and Scottie Scheffler (67).