For the first time, Scottie Scheffler of Dallas, Texas is a PGA Tour champion. On Sunday, he won the 2022 Waste Management Open from Phoenix, Arizona. Scheffler won in a playoff where he beat reigning FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay of Long Beach California.
Scheffler needed three holes to beat Cantlay in a playoff. The first two holes, each golfer shot a score of par, before Scheffler finally won with a birdie.
Scheffler and Cantlay each posted four-round scores of -16. The reigning Olympic champion Xander Schauffele of the United States, along with Americans Sahith Theegala and four-time major champion Brooks Koepka (2017 and 2018 United States Open, and 2018 and 2019 PGA Championship winner) were one stroke back at -15. Meanwhile Sweden’s Alex Noren and American Billy Horschel were two strokes back at -14. There were also two major champions at -13, and three strokes back. There you could find the reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, and 2017 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas.
This is the third straight week that a golfer on the PGA Tour won for the first time in his career. Two weeks ago, Luke List won the Farmers Insurance Open, and just last week, Tom Hoge won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. List also won his tournament in a playoff as he defeated rising American star Will Zalatoris.
Scheffler’s PGA Tour victory came one year after he finished in the top 10 at three of the four majors in 2021. Last year he was seventh at the U.S. Open, and eighth at the British Open and the PGA Championship.
