Scheffler tops Cantlay in Phoenix Open playoff for first win

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler outlasted Ryder Cup teammate Patrick Cantlay on the third hole of a playoff Sunday in the WM Phoenix Open, making a 25-foot birdie putt that had just enough momentum to tumble in.

Cantlay missed an 11-foot birdie try after Scheffler holed his putt.

Scheffler birdied four of the final six holes for a 4-under 67 to match Cantlay at 16-under 268 at TPC Scottsdale on another sunny, 80-degree day. Cantlay, playing a group ahead of Scheffler, had a bogey-free 67.

Scheffler broke through in his 71st PGA Tour start. Before Sunday, the 25-year-old former University of Texas star's biggest professional highlights were beating Jon Rahm in September in United States' Ryder Cup victory at Whistling Straits and shooting a 59 in the 2020 Northern Trust.

Scheffler and Cantlay matched pars on the first two extra trips down 18, with both players hitting the fairway and green the first time and both scrambling to save par on the second.

Scheffler missed a chance to end it in regulation when his 5 1/2-foot birdie try slid right. On the stadium par-3 16th, he left a birdie putt 2 inches short.

Nine strokes back entering the weekend, Scheffler shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within two strokes of leader Sahith Theegal and get into the final group. Scheffler played the first 12 holes in even par Sunday, with four birdies and four bogeys, before the late charge.

The fourth-ranked Cantlay was making his first start in the event, adding it to his schedule only because he figured it would be easier to play three straight weeks instead of traveling back and forth from Florida between two of his favorite events in California.

The FedEx Cup champion nearly left with his third victory in his last six starts.