For a guy who shot a six-under 65 to roar back from five strokes off the pace and win his first PGA Tour event in 17 months, Brooks Koepka had a surprisingly tough time on the greens Sunday at TPC Scottsdale. En route to his eighth career tour win, Koepka managed to lose 1.045 strokes with his putter. How exactly is that possible when you shoot a 65?
Well, in part because, arguably, the turning point of his victory was on the par-4 17th, where he didn’t acutally use his putter at all. After hitting a 3-wood off the tee, Koepka’s ball landed short right of the green on the drivable par 4, leaving him 97 feet from the hole. Koepka took out a wedge and proceeded to bump and run his second shot, the ball looking like it was bound for the hole the instance it hit the putting green.
Sure enough, it went dark …
https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1358540489897742339?s=20
The eagle 2, his second eagle of the round, jumped Koepka from a tie for the lead at 17-under to two strokes out from at 19-under. It was the cushion he’d need as Xander Schauffele and K.H. Lee would both get to 18-under, falling one shot short of catching Koepka.
