McKINNEY, Texas - K.H. Lee ran across the fairway while trying to get a better view of the key shot in his second consecutive victory in the Byron Nelson.
The 30-year-old South Korean must have known it would be close. That was par for the course in the low-scoring drama around him that included local favorite Jordan Spieth and a couple of other major winners in Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Thomas.
Lee's 240-yard shot on the par-5 12th hole stopped less than five feet from the pin, and the ensuing eagle put him in front for good Sunday on the way to a 9-under-par 63 and a one-shot victory over Spieth at birdie-besieged TPC Craig Ranch. Lee finished at 26-under 262 for his second career win on the PGA Tour.
Three-time major champion Spieth, a native of nearby Dallas, shot a 67 to finish a stroke ahead Matsuyama (62) - the 2021 Masters winner from Japan - and Colombia's Sebastián Muñoz (69), the University of North Texas alum who held or shared the lead after the first three rounds.
Xander Schauffele had a career-best 61 and tied for fifth with Ryan Palmer (66) and Thomas (67), the 2017 PGA Championship winner who was part of an eight-way tie for the lead at 20 under early in the final round.
A year ago, Lee was playing for a spot in the PGA Championship - this year's edition of the PGA of America's big event starts Thursday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma - but this time it was for a place in history. He joined World Golf Hall of Famers Sam Snead (1957-58), Jack Nicklaus (1970-71) and Tom Watson (1978-80) as the only repeat winners at the Nelson.
Lee's career-best round overcame a four-shot deficit and helped him improve on his overall score at the 2021 tournament by a stroke.
"It still feels like I'm dreaming," he said. "Last year and this year, to make a good memory."
Spieth had to settle for another career-best finish in the event he so badly wants to win, a year after he was ninth but never really close in a disappointing final round. This final round was really close.
Leading by one, Lee made a curling 12-foot putt to save par on the par-3 17th after a short chip ran long when he tried to find his footing in the sand with the ball above his feet just outside the bunker.
Spieth missed a nine-foot birdie putt on 17 that would have pulled him even, so he had to have an eagle on the par-5 18th after Lee's tap-in birdie. Spieth's chip for an eagle stayed left of the hole.
"I love playing at home. I would love to win it some day," Spieth said. "I had a good chance here, I don't think I ever really had the lead on my own. But it would be nice to close one out."
Chattanooga's Stephan Jaeger (72) tied for 38th at 15 under and fellow Baylor School graduate Keith Mitchell (72) shared 76th at 8 under.
Healthy and happy
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Steve Stricker completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Regions Tradition, closing with back-to-back birdies for 4-under 68, a six-stroke triumph and his fourth PGA Tour Champions major title.
Stricker's second Tradition win at Greystone Golf & Country Club came in his third event since returning from a six-month absence for health reasons.
"It's been a long time," the emotional Stricker said. "I hate crying, but where I was last November and even a couple of months ago - to come full circle here, it means a lot."
He had his 20th consecutive round under par on the Founder's Course, finishing the 72-hole event at 20-under 268 for his eighth victory over the 50-and-older tour.
Ireland's Paidrag Harrington was second, making birdies on the final two holes for a 68. Five players shared third at 14 under: Australia's Stuart Appleby (69) and Rod Pampling (67), New Zealand's Steven Alker (72), South Africa's Ernie Els (68) and Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez (70).
Stricker's birdie from the bunker on No. 17 ended a string of 11 straight pars and put him at 20 under for the first time, leading to a congratulatory fist bump from Alker, who has finished four straight tournaments in the top three, winning twice.
Stricker spent nearly two weeks in the hospital during his health scare and lost 25 pounds. He has finished all 10 rounds since his return inside the top 10, including a tie for second at the Insperity Invitational.
"I didn't know what to expect coming out three weeks ago," Stricker said. "I didn't know if I could make it three weeks in a row."
Door finally opens
CLIFTON, N.J. - The way LPGA scoring leader Minjee Lee has been playing, winning was only a matter of time.
The title came in the Cognizant Founders Cup after a final round in which the 25-year-old Australian wasn't playing her best.
Lee made her only three birdies Sunday on the back nine and held off Lexi Thompson by two shots to win her seventh career title on the LPGA Tour and first since securing her first major victory at last year's Evian Championship.
"I just feel like I've kind of been trending," said Lee, who also has a tie for second and a tie for third among her seven starts this year. "I've been hitting it really, really well this whole - I mean, this whole season, and I just felt like it was kind of around the corner. I kept knocking on the door, and here I am now."
Lee took the lead for good with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 14th hole at Upper Montclair Country Club. She closed with a 2-under 70, her only round not in the 60s, for a 72-hole total of 19-under 269 in the event that honors the 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour.
Looking for her first LPGA Tour win since 2019, Thompson rallied from three down and grabbed a share of the lead with a birdie at No. 10. Thompson and Lee traded birdies on the par-5 12th, but Thompson closed with six straight pars for a 69.
Thompson had birdie opportunities on the final two holes that she failed to convert before Lee closed it in style with a short birdie of her own. It was Thompson's second runner-up in six events this year.
Angel Yin (67) and Sweden's Madelene Sagstrom (72) tied for third at 16 under.
Horsfield's third win
ANTWERP, Belgium - Sam Horsfield closed with a 3-under-par 68 to finish the Soudal Open at 13-under 271 and win by two strokes, earning his third career victory on the DP World Tour.
The 25-year-old Englishman's other wins on the European circuit came at the Hero Open and the Celtic Classic in a two-week span in August 2020.
Horsfield teed off at the 18th hole with a one-stroke lead over playing partner Ryan Fox, the overnight leader from New Zealand, and ended up tapping in for par while Fox made bogey to finish off a 71 and share second place with Germany's Yannik Paul (69).
The 110th-ranked Horsfield is two weeks into his return to the tour after a three-month injury layoff.
Knoxville victory
KNOXVILLE - Anders Albertson two-putted for a birdie on the final hole for a 4-under 66 and a one-stroke victory over Korn Ferry Tour points leader Carl Yuan in the Visit Knoxville Open.
Albertson finished at 20-under 260 at Holston Hills Country Club for his second victory on the developmental tour. The 28-year-old Georgia Tech won the 2018 Memorial Health Championship for his first title.
Yuan, a 25-year-old from China, shot a 66 but was unable to catch Albertson, who opened with a 62 and had at least a share of the lead after each round. Albertson played on the PGA Tour in the 2018-19 season and is trying to return to the top circuit.
South Africa's MJ Daffue (65) was third at 18 under.