Every year, the Waste Management Open promises a party under the palm trees. This year, the pros brought their own energy to the TPC Scottsdale through 4 rounds and a 3-hole playoff. Scottie Scheffler faced off against Patrick Cantlay and emerged victorious with a winning putt on the 18th hole.
Scheffler started the final round with an even par on the front nine and a bogey on the 12th hole. From there, he rallied, scoring four birdies in the remaining six holes to tie with Cantlay at -16 under at the end of regulation.
Cantlay and Scheffler both landed pars on the first two playoff holes, but a birdie on the third playoff hole gave Sheffler the win.
Though he was leading after 36 holes, Sahith Theegala—the 24-year-old rookie and apparent fan favorite—lost a ball into the water on a bad bounce on the 17th hole, costing him the win.
Theegala tied with Sander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka—last year’s Waste Management Open champion—for third place. Turns out blondes don’t always have more fun, eh Koepka?
It was a weekend running high with emotions, comebacks, and great golf. Oh, and did we mention Sam Ryder’s stunning hole-in-one on the 16th hole in front of thousands of cheering fans? Yes, it took officials 15 minutes to clean up all the beer cans fans threw onto the course in their excitement. But was it worth it? Definitely.
We’ll be keeping our eye on some of the standouts from the tournament, especially Scheffler and Theegala. These rising stars showed resilience and optimism through all the ups and downs of this wild tournament, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of 2022 holds for them after such an exciting start.