SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Scottie Scheffler was even for the day and three strokes out of the lead after bogeying the par-3 12th hole during the final round of the Phoenix Open.
"If you would have told me on (the 13th) tee I was going to be in a playoff, I would have been pleased," Scheffler said. "I felt a little bit out of it at that point."
He got back into it quickly, and two hours later he made a 25-foot birdie putt on the third hole of a playoff against Patrick Cantlay to win his first PGA Tour title.
"I've been playing great, and I was getting so frustrated because I was scoring so poorly," Scheffler said Sunday evening. "To kind of put things together yesterday and get through all the mistakes I made today and still pull it out is pretty amazing."
Cantlay missed an 11-foot birdie try to end it.
Scheffler followed the bogey on 12 with three straight birdies, left a birdie putt a couple of inches short on the stadium par-3 16th and birdied the par-4 17th. He missed a chance to win on the par-4 18th in regulation when his 5 1/2-foot birdie try slid right.
"I think the first one is probably always the hardest, and I definitely made it pretty difficult on myself today," Scheffler said.
The 25-year-old former University of Texas star closed with a 4-under-par 67 to match Cantlay at 16-under 268 at TPC Scottsdale. Cantlay, playing a group ahead of Scheffler, had a bogey-free 67.
Scheffler broke through in his 71st start on golf's top circuit. His biggest career highlights before Sunday were beating Jon Rahm in September in the United States' Ryder Cup victory at Whistling Straits and shooting a 59 in the 2020 Northern Trust.
"I kept telling myself there would be some bumps in the road," said Scheffler, who's No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Scheffler and the fourth-ranked Cantlay matched pars on the first two extra trips down 18, both hitting the fairway and green the first time and both scrambling to save par on the second.
Nine strokes back entering the weekend, Scheffler shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within two of leader Sahith Theegala and get into the final group.
"Scottie, obviously, played really well this weekend and deserves to win," Cantlay said.
Cantlay was making his first start in the event, adding it to his schedule only because he figured it would be easier to play three straight weeks instead of flying back and forth from Florida between two of his favorite events in California. The reigning FedEx Cup champion nearly left with his third victory in six starts.
"I didn't make any bogeys, and I hit a lot of good putts," he said, "and didn't really get anything to go in all day."
Theegala, the 24-year-old rookie who led after each of the first three days, lost a share of the top spot with a bogey on the par-4 17th after driving left into the water.
"I thought I hit a great shot on 17," Theegala said. "It was cutting. As long as it's another yard right, I think that's perfect. Kick straight and it's good. Kicked left into the water."
He shot a 70 to tie for third at 15 under with 2021 Phoenix Open champion Brooks Koepka (69) and eighth-ranked Xander Schauffele (68). Theegala missed a chance to become the first player to win a PGA Tour event on a sponsor exemption since Martin Laird in the 2020 Shriners Children's Open.
"I just didn't hit the shots at the right time when it counted," he said. "But definitely proud of the way I played this week."
Koepka, also the 2015 winner at Phoenix, closed with birdies on 17 and 18.
"I putted it really well. Really solid," Koepka said. "But the wedges just weren't up to par."
Billy Horschel (66) and Sweden's Alex Noren (68) tied for sixth at 14 under, with Justin Thomas (66) another stroke back alongside two-time Phoenix winner Hideki Matsuyama (69) of Japan. There was a four-way tie for 10th at 12 under between U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm (67) - the former Arizona State star lives a few miles from the course - England's Matt Fitzpatrick (67), Patton Kizzire (68) and Chattanooga native Keith Mitchell (68).
Mitchell was joined in the field by two other Baylor School graduates, with Luke List (70) tying for 53rd at 2 under and Stephan Jaeger (73) sharing 62nd at 1 over.
With the leaders just getting started, Mexico's Carlos Ortiz brought the wild 16th hole to life before noon with the second hole-in-one in two days.
His 8-iron shot on the 178-yard hole landed in front of the pin and rolled in. A day after Sam Ryder sent the stadium crowd into frenzy when he holed out from 124 yards, the rowdy fans again threw bottles and cans on the turf in celebration, delaying play.
"You start trying to watch out for your head, because I got actually nailed pretty hard on the back with a beer can," Ortiz said. "After that, I was just trying to just avoid all the cans I could."
Fox by five for first
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Ryan Fox secured the biggest victory of his career as he won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic by five shots.
It was the 35-year-old New Zealander's first triumph in a 72-hole format on the DP World Tour. His only other title was in a Super 6 tournament in 2019 that had a six-hole knockout format after 54 holes of stroke play.
Fox, No. 211 in the world, went into the final round in Abu Dhabi with a six-shot lead and a load of nerves. He bogeyed two of his first six holes to allow the field to close in, then played the final 11 holes in 4 under for 3-under 69 to finish at 22-under 266.
"I didn't sleep very well last night," Fox said. "Obviously a couple of the guys came at me early. I was a bit nervous. I had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach all day.
"But I'm very happy with how I played. A couple of great shots coming down the stretch, and it was certainly nice walking down the last (hole) with putter in hand with so many putts to win."
England's Ross Fisher was second after a closing 66 at Al Hamra Golf Club, the latest stop on the desert swing for what was formerly known as the European Tour. Three players shared third: Spain's Pablo Larrazabal (69), South Africa's Zander Lombard (65) and Germany's Hurly Long (64).