Despite already being one of the best golfers in the world, Scottie Scheffler was missing a big-name victory in his short career. He got it yesterday by winning the Phoenix Open, although for this he had to suffer a lot. He needed to force a playoff tiebreaker against Patrick Cantlay, one of the players of the moment, and there he had to fight for three intense holes to achieve victory.
The number 15 in the world was an orphan of victories on the PGA Tour. It’s been two years in which he is used to being in the fight for the most important titles, but the shadow of never finishing his good performances was beginning to weigh on him. And it was this Sunday when he decided to leave that behind. In the closing stages of the tournament, which was played at TPC Scottdale, Scheffler seemed too far from the fight for victory, but four birdies in the last six holes certified a card of 67 strokes, four under the par of the field, which allowed him to fight for victory in a tiebreaker against Patrick Cantlay, who also had 67 strokes in the final day.
They had left behind the one who started as leader, the inexperienced Sahith Theegala, who had left very good feelings this week, but the pressure got to him on the final day. The tiebreaker between two titans of the North American circuit was marked by equality, until on the third hole of the playoff, Scheffler holed a birdie that allowed him to raise the first notable tournament of his short career, Well, we must not forget that he is barely 25 years old and has a great future ahead of him.
Rahm, during the final day.
Christian Petersen (AFP)
Jon Rahm started on this final day without hope of fighting for victory, after two days in which Barrika’s was too irregular. However, the world number one did achieve his goal, which was to finish inside the top-10, and he did so by finishing in tenth place. To do this he had to come back ten positions, and he did it thanks to a card of 67 shots, equaling his best performance this week, with three birdies, an eagle and a single bogey. Despite not being fine, Rahm continues to show that he is in the fight week after week, something very unusual in golf.