ORLANDO, Fla. - Scottie Scheffler isn't sure he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational as much as he survived it.
Over the final four holes Sunday at Bay Hill, he had to get up and down from 149 yards in rough covering the tops of his shoes, and from 67 yards over the water to a back pin on the third-easiest hole.
The two conventional pars that followed were just as scary, one from 45 feet and the other from about 70 feet, on greens with barely enough grass to keep the ball from sliding, knowing a gust could send the ball an extra eight feet.
Scheffler answered every challenge. The 25-year-old from Dallas closed with a bogey-free back nine and a par round of 72 for a one-shot victory, his second on the PGA Tour in a month. He moved to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
"To be completely honest with you, right now I'm exhausted," said Scheffler, who wound up at 5-under 283 overall and added a second career win not long after getting his first at the Phoenix Open. "This course is a total beatdown trying to play. I'm very pleased I didn't have to play any extra holes."
Norway's Viktor Hovland (74) missed an 18-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the 18th. Billy Horschel (75) missed a 30-foot birdie in the final group, both trying to force a playoff. They finished one shot behind, along with England's Tyrrell Hatton, who had a 69 and finished an hour earlier.
Scheffler didn't win the U.S. Open. It just felt like one.
Only a few birdies on the par-5 16th and pars on the 18th kept this from being the toughest final round at Bay Hill in four decades. The average score was still 75.48. Six players shot 80 or higher, and only four players broke par.
Chattanooga's Stephan Jaeger (78) tied for 52nd at 8 over, and fellow Baylor School graduate Keith Mitchell (74) shared 61st at 10 over.
Brehm's win timely
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico - Needing to win or finish solo second to retain PGA Tour status, Ryan Brehm went out Sunday and ran away with the Puerto Rico Open for his first title on golf's top circuit.
With wife Chelsey at his side as his caddie, the 35-year-old from Michigan birdied five of the first 11 holes at windy and rainy Grand Reserve and beat Max McGreevy by six strokes.
Three strokes ahead entering the day, Brehm closed with a 5-under 67 to finish at 20-under 268 in the make-or-break start on a minor medical extension. He got the one-tournament extension after he had to withdraw from the Zurich Classic last year because of COVID-19.
With the Puerto Rico Open played opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Brehm received a two-year exemption and a spot in the PGA Championship but will not be exempt for the Masters. The 6-foot-4 former Michigan State player won in his 68th start on the tour. He's ranked 773rd in the world.
McGreevy closed with a 69, one stroke ahead of Tommy Gainey (70) and Brandon Wu (69).
Early eagle helps
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - Retief Goosen holed out for an eagle from a greenside bunker on the short par-4 first hole, birdied the next two and cruised to an 8-under 63 and a four-stroke victory in the PGA Tour Champions' Hoag Classic.
A stroke behind fellow South African star Ernie Els entering the round, Goosen pulled away quickly at Newport Beach Country Club in breezy but calmer conditions than players faced Saturday.
Goosen finished at 15-under 198. Coming off offseason shoulder surgery, the two-time U.S. Open champion won for the second time on the 50-and-older tour. He also won the 2019 Senior Players.
South Korea's K.J. Choi was second after a 66, Lee Janzen (69) and Canada's Stephen Ames (67) tied for third at 9 under, Doug Barron and Tim Petrovic each shot a 67 to finish at 7 under and Els (73) was seventh at 6 under.
Living up to No. 1
SINGAPORE - South Korea's Jin Young Ko birdied the 18th hole for a 6-under 66 and a two-stroke win at the LPGA Tour's HSBC Women's World Championship.
The 26-year-old Ko, the world's top-ranked player in women's golf and the reigning LPGA player of the year, finished at 17-under 271. South Korea's In Gee Chun (69) and Australia's Minjee Lee (63) finished second.
South Korea's Jeongeun Lee6 was tied with Ko on the final hole at Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong Course but had a double-bogey 6 to finish off a 69 and share fourth with Thailand's Atthaya Thitikul (67).
Ko has won six times in her past 10 starts, and on Sunday she set LPGA Tour records for most consecutive rounds in the 60s (15) and most consecutive sub-par rounds (30). She made her return to competition after a three-month break that included time with her family in South Korea before a few weeks of intensive practice in Palm Springs, California.
Sunday stroll
NAIROBI, Kenya - China's Ashun Wu closed with a 6-under 65 to easily hold off a chasing pack of three players and win the DP World Tour's Magical Kenya Open by four strokes.
Wu completed each of his rounds under par to finish at 16-under 268 and cruise to victory at Muthaiga Golf Club despite starting the final day four shots off the lead. It's the 36-year-old's fourth victory on the European circuit; he's a two-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour.
Canada's Aaron Cockerill (67), Germany's Hurly Long (66) and South Africa's Thriston Lawrence (66) shared second without seriously challenging for the lead.
David Horsey (69) could not replicate his form in the third round where he shot 65 and finished the tournament another shot back in fifth.