Ryder aces wild 16th, Theegala holds onto Phoenix Open lead

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Sam Ryder brought down the house with a hole-in-one on the stadium 16th hole Saturday in the WM Phoenix Open, where newcomer Sahith Theegala topped a leaderboard as crowded as the course.

Ryder's wedge shot on the 124-yard hole landed just right and short, bounced a couple of times, spun left and tumbled in. The rowdy fans on the 17,000-seat hole threw drinks in the air in celebration and littered the turf with bottles, cans and cups, leading to about a 15-minute delay.

“I don’t know how I could pick a hole over this one,” said Ryder, eight strokes behind Theegala after an even-par 71. “I don’t think there’s any hole that has the electricity that this one has.”

Ryder's first tour ace was the 10th at No. 16 since the tournament moved to the course in 1997 and first since Francesco Molinari in the third round in 2015. Tiger Woods did it in 1997 before grandstands ringed the hole.

“It just ended up being a perfect 54-degree wedge,” Ryder said. “Everything always plays a little shorter in there, adrenaline or whatever it is."

With around 200,000 fans packing firm and fast TPC Scottsdale on another sunny, 80-degree day in the Valley of the Sun, Theegala overcame a double bogey on the par-4 second to shoot a 69.

“What a day,” Theegala said. “So many ups and downs. I mean, it was wild.”

Making his event debut on a sponsor exemption, Theegala had a 14-under 199 total for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Brooks Koepka. FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Talor Gooch were another stroke back.

“I’m really exhausted right now,” Theegala said. “Probably, I hit it in the desert five times. I got my ball stepped on twice, got my ball picked up twice. Very