Waste Management Open: Scheffler Scores First Win As Theegala Hangs In Late
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He’s contended in majors, played a key role on the Ryder Cup team and now Scottie Scheffler has a signature victory in the 2022 WM Open. A birdie at 17 and a 26-footer in the playoff to beat Patrick Cantlay came when 99% of the viewing public was watching the Super Bowl.
Nonetheless, Scheffler gets the best-player-not-to-have-a-PGA Tour win off his back.
From Adam Schupak’s Golfweek game story:
So was Scheffler’s resume, which included U.S. Junior Amateur champion, All-American at Texas and Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year. Scheffler already had shot 59 in a FedEx Cup playoff event, had a chance to a host of Tour events, most recently at the Houston Open, but victory had remained elusive. Entering the week at No. 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Scheffler was the highest-ranked player in the world without a PGA Tour victory.
Another winner from the week: Sahith Theegala. We got to know him after making the cut in the 2017 Genesis before going on to a Hogan and Nicklaus Award at Pepperdine. But contending in Scottsdale is another matter and Theegala did nothing wrong, including what looked like a stellar tee shot at the drivable 17th. It finished in the water and his bogey there was the difference between making the playoff and his T3 finish.
From Daniel Rapaport’s GolfDigest.com story:
Theegala, a distinctly un-jaded 24-year-old rookie with an easy smile and a hall-of-fame strut, failed to get up and down and failed to get himself into a playoff with Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay. He succeeded, however, in capturing the adoration of the 800,000-ish fans who made their way to party this week and the millions more watching on television. (At least until the playoff bled into the Super Bowl.) He slept on the lead three nights in a row and refused to cede his place on a star-studded leader board, even holding a three-shot lead for a brief period on the front nine.
He was emotional after a gut-wrenching loss:
