SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. At the lowest point of an 18-month battle with left knee and hip problems, Brooks Koepka wondered if he would ever be back, let alone the magic that took him back to four major championships.
“It’s been a wild ride and very frustrating for the past year and a half,” Koepka said. “I had moments where I did not know if I would be the same, or if I could even come back.”
He looked as good nine times in the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday as ever before, and achieved a victory that was not so long ago not possible.
“I went through it mentally,” Koepka said. “I think it’s probably the hardest thing, where you do not know if you’ll ever be the same competitor you were. You’re going through some dark places and it’s not a fun place to be.”
It was sunny and nice Sunday in the desert, especially on the 17th hole. This is where he beat from 32 yards for his second eagle of the day to break a tie for the lead. A routine match at 18 gave him a 1-stroke win.
Five strokes behind Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele who penetrated the round, Koepka shot a 6-under-65 to finish 19-under 265. He also won at TPC Scottsdale in 2015 for the first of his eight PGA tournaments.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the 5-stroke return was the biggest by any tournament winner in the past two seasons.
On the 174-yard 17th, Koepka hits a highway wood 305 meters to the highway short and to the left of the green, and then protrudes to the biggest roar of the day of the crowd limited to 5,000 per day.
“I felt like the slide, if I just caught it in the crest, it would check on me and it worked perfectly,” he said. “Took me a nice little right kick and looked nowhere but the hole.”
The crowd was a fraction of the usual size, but the largest on tour during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I missed the fans,” Koepka said. “Just being with fans is something else. I love it. I played my best golf with fans, so I just have to find something when they are not there. ‘
With a poor career of three runs, Koepka fell back on the second point with a 24-foot eagle shot on the third point and the no. 13, 14 and 15 poultry.
“I live for those moments where you had to close, you hit some quality shots, quality putts,” Koepka said. “I just like to show off, I think.”
Schauffele advanced the par-4 18th for a 71 to equalize for Kyoung-Hoon Lee (68). The Schauffele, the fourth position, finished second at Torrey Pines last week.
“It was a good day to learn from some mistakes,” Schauffele said. “Felt like I’m been pretty patient all day.”
Lee flew 17 to pull in one of Koepka, but on the 18th par-4 he drove right and slid his 34-foot birdie-three to the high side.
“I’m pretty excited this week,” Lee said. “Everything is good – irons, drivers, birds, everything – and lots of rescues.”
Steve Stricker, the 53-year-old captain of the American Ryder Cup, who wanted to become the oldest winner at the PGA Tour, finished with a 67 and drew fourth with Spieth (72) and Carlos Ortiz (64) at 17 under. .
“It was a lot of fun,” Stricker said. “That’s why I’m still going to play in this. I’ve not shown it in the past, but I’ve been playing better lately. I also feel a little better physically.”
Spieth and Schauffele struggled from the start, with Spieth hitting the first hole after almost driving into a desert forest. They each had two foreboks, with Schauffele being the only birdie between the two at the front at number 9.
Schauffele and Spieth each rode in the water at 17 to end their chances, then both flew 18.
Spieth shot 61 for part of the lead on Saturday. Wenless since the 2017 Open, the 27-year-old Texan is trying to regain the form he carried after 11 PGA tournaments – including three majors – in his first five seasons on tour.
A fourth place is therefore something that Spieth can build on after considering skipping the tournament altogether.
“I just possibly wanted to go home and felt like I was really far from where I needed to be,” Spieth said, “and this golf course is generally not an excellent golf course for me, so I thought I would then go to Pebble [Beach] a little fresher. Boy, I’m glad I came. ‘
James Hahn, three strokes ahead in the middle of the round, put up four of the last eight holes for a 69. He finished 10th on 15 under.
ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss and The Associated Press contributed to this report.