SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) – Scottie Scheffler successfully defended his WM Phoenix Open title at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday and reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking.
Scheffler finished with a 6-under 65 to beat Nick Taylor by two strokes on the Stadium Course. The 26-year-old Texan took the top spot from Rory McIlroy with his fifth win on the PGA Tour.
Last year, Scheffler defeated Patrick Cantlay in a playoff for his first tour title. Scheffler added wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, WGC-Match Play and the Masters and was the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Scheffler made a 22-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th to break a tie with Taylor, then took a two-shot lead on the par-3 16th when he holed a 15-footer for par after hitting his tee shot far left on the stadium hole.
Scheffler birdied the par-4 17th from 5 feet and closed with a par to finish at 19-under 265. He earned $3.6 million from a $20 million purse in the second of the PGA Tour’s new designated events, created to bring top players more often together.
Scheffler became the seventh player to successfully defend the tournament title, following Ben Hogan (1946-47), Jimmy Demaret (1949-50), Lloyd Mangrum (1952-53), Arnold Palmer (three straight from 1961-63), Johnny Miller (1974-75) and Hideki Matsuyama (2016-17).
Taylor also finished with a 65. The Canadian bogeyed the 16th, missing 7 feet after Scheffler made a par.
Jon Rahm, the former Arizona State star who opened the year with back-to-back wins in Hawaii and the California desert, was tied for third at 14-under after a 68. He was also in position to take the top spot with a win.
Justin Thomas was tied for fourth at 13 under after a 65. Jason Day (68) followed at 12 under and Jordan Speith (70) was another stroke back with Sam Burns (68), Sungjae Im (69) and Tyrrell Hatton (69 )
Rickie Fowler was in the group at 10 under. The 2019 winner had a hole-in-one on the par-3 seventh, using a 6-iron on the 216-yard hole.
McIlroy closed with a 70 to tie for 32nd at 4 under.
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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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