American Scottie Scheffler cruised through the fourth round on Sunday at the TPC Scottsdale course in Phoenix to defend his Waste Management Open title in style.
He thus regained the first position of the world chessboard, which had escaped him from the hands of the Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy. He won $3.6M of a total purse of $20M.
Last year, Scheffler won in overtime ahead of his compatriot Patrick Cantlay, thus getting his hands on his first PGA title.
It was then the start of a superb outbreak for Scheffler, who added three coronations to his record during the rest of the 2022 season, including the prestigious Masters Tournament.
Scheffler edged his closest pursuer, Canadian Nick Taylor, down the stretch to win by three shots, with a cumulative minus-19.
“It feels really good”, he reacted after having held on to this 4th round despite the pressure imposed by his runner-up, the Canadian Nick Taylor, who finished twice, both having returned the same card of 65.
“I’m just proud of the way I fought. However, I did not have my best equipment with me. But I struggled. I didn’t hit my shots well at the start. My irons weren’t as precise. But in the end I played great golf,” he added.
Taylor was looking for a second PGA title, after the one he won at Pebble Beach in 2019.
Two of the world’s biggest players took third and fourth place, as Spaniard Jon Rahm and American Justin Thomas finished the competition at 14 and 13 under, respectively.
Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, finished 10th at 10 under after a 71.
Source: RDS
