The Phoenix Open has been a PGA Tour mainstay since 1932 when Bob Goldwater and the Thunderbirds, a local civic organization, started hosting a tournament to promote Phoenix and its business community. Contested in January or February during the West Coast swing, the Phoenix Open’s perpetual trophy is an eye-popping history lesson of golf’s many Hall of Famers and well-known talents. Three-time winners in Phoenix include Arnold Palmer, Gene Littler, Mark Calcavecchia and Phil Mickelson, all major champions. Two-time winners are just as historically impressive with such names on the trophy as Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Jimmy Demaret, Lloyd Mangrum, Miller Barber, Vijay Singh and now Brooks Koepka.
True, the Phoenix Open is played in the desert on courses that promote birdies and eagles, and yet there are not a lot of one-hit wonders who’ve taken home the Phoenix Open trophy. During the course of the last decade, the champs at Phoenix have been Phil, Webb Simpson, Hideki Matsuyama (back-to-back), Gary Woodland, Rickie Fowler and Brooks.
With Steve Stricker, Brooks Koepka and James Hahn of Alameda standing on the 17th tee on Sunday afternoon, just one hour prior to the Super Bowl kickoff, there were 10 golfers on the leader board who were all within one stroke of each other. Koepka, Carlos Ortiz and K.H. Lee were all at 17-under-par. Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Steve Stricker, Scottie Scheffler, Andrew Putnam, Michael Smith and James Hahn were one stroke back at 16-under-par. The back nine featured two relatively easy par-5s while the short par-4 17th was drivable at 334 yards. Last Sunday’s Phoenix Open looked like it would have all the drama that the follow-up Super Bowl LV wouldn’t.
There were golfers among the top 10 who were making big moves while others were leaking oil badly. Xander Schauffle and Jordan Spieth were over par for their rounds on Sunday. Carlos Ortiz was in the clubhouse following a 7-under-par 64. Matthew NeSmith was charging up the leader board and would end up shooting 65. James Hahn had the lead after 10 holes after a front-nine 30, but would find the water twice, make a bad chip, and bogey four of his last eight holes. Four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who was recovering from knee injuries, got himself into the hunt by making birdies on the 13th, 14th and 15th holes. And the possible feel-good story of the Phoenix Open revolved around Steve Stricker. If the current Ryder Cup captain was able to prevail, he would eclipse Sam Snead’s mark and become the oldest golfer in PGA Tour history to win a regular tour event. Stricker turns 54 in another week, his wife was his caddie, and he was in the process of hitting every green in regulation throughout the day while carding five birdies on the back nine.
At the crucial juncture of the tournament, Koepka hit a 300-yard drive on the 17th hole, just right and short of the green. The announcers mentioned that his 97-foot chip shot was a lot more difficult than the ones facing playing partners Stricker and Hahn. Yet Brooks is one tough competitor who won his very first PGA Tour event at the 2015 Phoenix Open and has shown a remarkable capacity to know how to play great when the heat is on. Koepka assessed his shot, carried it barely onto the green, and watched it slowly climb toward the hole. With close to perfect speed, it hit the center of the flagstick and dropped into the cup for an eagle-two. It would turn out to be his second eagle of the day and it would lead to his eighth victory on tour. Brooks would finish at 19-under-par and win by one stroke.
True, while Koepka was winning, others were faltering while leaving the door wide open. Xander Schauffle got within one stroke of the leader after making birdie on the 16th hole. If he could reproduce what Koepka had done minutes earlier, he would take the lead. Instead he hit his tee shot into the water on the 17th hole. He would make a bounceback birdie on the 18th hole, but it was one shot short. Jordan Spieth, who putted brilliantly in route to a 61 on Saturday, couldn’t get a whiff of the hole on Sunday and ended up shooting 72 to tie for second. Korean K.H. Lee had a chance to tie Koepka with a birdie putt on the final hole and barely missed. His second-place finish would see him climb the Fed Ex ladder from 137th to 48th.
Yet as we’ve said before in this column, one person wins the golf tournament but others achieve some modicum of success even without hoisting a trophy. For Andrew Putnam and Matthew NeSmith who were 122nd and 82nd in Fed Ex Cup points respectively, their top-10 finishes vaulted them to a much safer 85th and 65th place. For Steve Stricker, his tie for fourth place was an eye opener. He has five wins with the senior set on the Champions Tour, and yet he showed he can still hang in there with golfers who are young enough to be his sons. As for Jordan Spieth, a three-time major champion who hasn’t won in four years, it might have been the start of his resurgence as a competitive golfer.
Sad to say, but it was a tough Sunday for Justin Thomas, a third-generation PGA professional. His grandfather, Paul Thomas, passed away on Saturday evening at age 89. Paul Thomas was the longtime head professional at Zionville Country Club in Ohio. JT played with a heavy heart all day Sunday as he carded a 72 and finished tied for 13th.
As for Brooks Koepka, he showed he is back and in the mix once again. With the first major championship of the year, the Masters, being contested in just two months, Brooks has to be considered a major force now that he is fully healed. With most recent major winners Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau playing well and a world of young talent like Carlos Ortiz, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele yearning for a green jacket of their very own, we could be in for a Masters of the ages. Maybe it’ll be as exciting as Phoenix.
