63rd AT&T Byron Nelson:
Playing out of the third-to-last pairing, Sergio Garcia overcame a three-shot deficit with a final-round 2-under-par 68 to post 15-under 265, and then eliminated overnight leader Brooks Koepka with par on the first playoff hole to Koepka’s double bogey-6.
The 36-year-old claims his ninth PGA TOUR title in his 301st career start and first since the 2012 Wyndham Championship, 60 starts (45 months) ago.
It’s his second Nelson title in his 12th overall appearance, having also won the 2004 edition in a three-man playoff, and becomes the first multiple winner since the tournament moved to TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas in 1983.
The Spaniard made his pro debut in the United States at the 1999 Byron Nelson and posted a T3, adding one other top-10 finish in 2001 with T8.
He improves to 5-6 in playoffs, having lost his previous three, including to Rickie Fowler at the 2015 PLAYERS. Prior to this week, the last time he won a playoff was at the 2008 PLAYERS over Paul Goydos.
Coincidentally, and staying on THE PLAYERS theme (and TPC’s), Garcia opened this week in 63-66 and played his first 36 holes bogey-free. Last week’s PLAYERS champion Jason Day opened 63-66 and played his first 36 holes bogey-free.
Garcia’s victory comes in his 10th start of the season and is his second top 10, having finished runner-up to Adam Scott at The Honda Classic. He co-led the Honda after 18 holes (with Michael Thompson) and 54 holes (with Scott), but shot a final-round 1-over 71 to Scott’s 70.
With 500 FedExCup (FEC) points for the win, Garcia jumps from 48th in the FEC standings to 12th, 959 points behind leader Jason Day, and bumps from No. 15 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to No. 12. He also ties Seve Ballesteros for most wins on the PGA TOUR by a Spanish-born player.
How He Won on Sunday:
For the week, Garcia’s stats across the board don’t JUMP OUT at you; in fact, several are quite pedestrian for the eventual winner. That said, below were a few keys on Sunday that ultimately led to victory.
He needed just 23 putts in the finale, nine on the front side, and had 11 one-putts.
Seven of the 11 came on his first half, and he tallied a zero-putt version on the par-4 eighth from the fringe. Using the flat stick, Garcia brushed-in the 16’4” par-saver at a key moment, having just connected three straight birdies on holes 5-7.
Perhaps the most critical one-putt was for a par on the par-4 11th. After finding the water off the tee and subsequent penalty drop, Garcia hit his third from 100 yards away to 7’9” and canned it.
Another key stat was putts per green in regulation. For the week, he finished a pedestrian 41st (of 74) at 1.719, but he made the most of his chances on Sunday, connecting six times on 11 greens in regulation, for 1.455. Garcia’s final birdie dropped from just 38 inches at the par-5 16th, but was set up by a deftly executed pitch shot from 24 yards away in the intermediate rough.
Garcia’s final frame was not an instant classic for the highlight shows – he went out in 2-under 33 (four birdies, two bogeys) and came home in a two-birdie two-bogey 35 – but it was enough to post the clubhouse lead, and wait.
In the end, his 68 stood tall, proving to be the BEST lap of the final three groups and got him into extra time.
Koepka, who stalled out to a 1-over 71, and Jordan Spieth (74), comprised the final twosome, while Matt Kuchar (69) and Bud Cauley (70) were in the penultimate pairing. Garcia’s playing competitor Kyle Reifers shot 70.
Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 74 players):
Distance of putts made: 403’6” (1st)
Birdie to Bogey Ratio: 3.33 (6th)
Birdie or Better Percentage: 27.78 percent (T7)
All-Around: T5
Par-3 Scoring: 2.75 (T5)
Par-4 Scoring: 3.90 (T11)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.25 (T7)
Greens in Regulation (GIR): 57/72 (T4) at 79.17 percent
Proximity to Hole: 35’2” (48th)
Putts per GIR: 1.719 (41st)
Scrambling: 10/15 (T33) at 66.67 percent
Total Putts: 114 (T51); by round: 26-31-34-23
Strokes gained: tee-to-green (SGTTG): 7.810 (7th)
Strokes gained: putting (SGP): 3.722 (12th)
Driving Distance: 299.5 yards (9th)
Driving Accuracy: 32/56 (T43) at 57.14 percent
Birdies: 19 (T4)
Bogeys: 6 (T7)
Double Bogeys: 0 (T1)
Eagles: 1 (T4)
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($2,339,650):
Group 1: Sergio Garcia (P1): $1,314,000
Group 2: Matt Kuchar (3rd): $496,400
Group 3: Spencer Levin, Colt Knost (T4): $264,500
Group 4: Robert Garrigus, Tim Wilkinson, Bud Cauley (T4): $264,500
Draw:
As far as making the 36-hole cut, late/early was the better part of the draw with 45 (of 77) making the cut (1 WD), versus 38 (of 78) early/late.
However, five of the seven top-finishers in Golf Channel were AM/PM, including the champion.
Sergio Garcia (P1): Early/late
Matt Kuchar (3rd): Early/late
Colt Knost (T4): Early/late
Robert Garrigus (T4): Early/late
Tim Wilkinson (T4): Early/late
Spencer Levin (T4): Late/early
Bud Cauley (T4): Late/early
Brooks Koepka (P2): Late/early
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Sergio Garcia, Danny Lee, Johnson Wagner (63)
R2: D.A. Points, Boo Weekley (62)
R3: Tim Wilkinson (63)
R4: Jimmy Walker, Scott Pinckney (63)
The Champion’s Recap:
15-under 265 (63-66-68-68)
Sergio Garcia: The Spaniard co-led after 18 holes with a bogey-free 63, was T2 after 36 holes with a bogey-free 66, and began the finale three back of Koepka in a three-way T3 on 13-under after a third-round 68.
At the turn, the leaderboard read:
Brooks Koepka: -17 (thru 9 holes)
Tim Wilkinson: -14 (thru 11)
Sergio Garcia: -14 (thru 10)
Kyle Reifers: -14 (10)
Matt Kuchar: -14 (9)
Colt Knost: -13 (in with 65)
Robert Garrigus: -13 (14)
Garcia improved to 15-under with two birdies against one bogey over his final eight holes, but Koepka came back to him, losing two with back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 en route to a birdie-less 2-over 37.
Koepka still had a chance to win on the 72nd hole with a 15’11” birdie try at the par-4 finishing hole, but missed.
The duo headed back to the 18th for sudden death and Koepka went first, pulling this tee shot into the water and slopping his way to double bogey-6. After seeing Koepka’s tee shot, Garcia went back to the bag and downgraded to 3-wood. One fairway, one green and two putts later, he was the victor.
The Runner-up:
15-under 265 (65-64-65-71)
Brooks Koepka: The 26-year-old led in birdie or better percentage at 31.94 percent. He circled a field-high 23 birdies on 60 GIR and led in total putts with 103 and putts per GIR at 1.568.
The vast majority of the latter however, was enjoyed over the first three rounds. In the finale, he mustered just two birdies on nine GIR for a disappointing 1.889.
This was his first 54-hole lead on TOUR in his 55th career start and seemed in control to win his second title (2015, Phoenix Open). As mentioned, he began the final round with a three-shot cushion and had maintained the margin with nine holes remaining.
The FSU product missed five of nine GIR on his inward half, all five in succession on holes 12-16, succumbing to consecutive bogeys at 14 and 15.
The Floridian settles for a season best and fourth top 10 in 13 starts and his first career runner-up. He drops to 0-1 in playoffs but jumps 28 spots to No. 23 in the FEC standings and bumps three to No. 16 in OWGR.
3rd-Place:
14-under 266 (65-67-65-69)
Matt Kuchar: The 37-year-old has deposited just north of $1 million dollars the last two weeks with T3 at THE PLAYERS and solo third this week.
He was chasing his eighth TOUR title in his 364th career start, first since the 2014 RBC Heritage, but settles for a personal best at the Nelson in his ninth appearance and his fifth top 10 of the season in 14 starts.
The Florida native made enough birdies to win (22), but 19 of those came during the first three rounds. In the finale, he conjured just three on 12 GIR and posted a dismal -1.351 in SGP. For the week, the Georgia Tech alum squared too many bogeys; eight, to finish T25 in that category, including two in the final round, and was 32nd in scrambling at 68.00 percent.
Kuchar struggled the most on the par 3s, averaging a field-tying-worst 3.19. Of his 12 tours over the par 3s for the week, he had ONE birdie and four bogeys, including a costly bogey on the 13th in the final round, ultimately finishing one shot out of the playoff.
Surprises:
Tim Wilkinson: The Kiwi finished in a six-way T4 on 13-under 267. He bogeyed his final hole to close with a 2-under 68 for his first top-20 finish in his sixth Byron Nelson.
The 37-year-old lefty was making his 12th start on the season with a previous best of T11 in his last start at the Wells Fargo. Over the course of his last two events, he’s catapulted from 748th in OWGR to 371st, and improved from 184th in FEC points to 108th.
Wilkinson began the final round five back of Koepka and was looking for his maiden title in his 126th career start. After a 2-under first half and a third birdie at the par-4 11th, he climbed into a four-way T2, but wobbled with bogeys at 12 and 18 overshadowing a final birdie at the 13th.
It’s his eighth career top 10 and first since T8 at the 2014 Barracuda Championship.
Colt Knost: The 30-year-old will be exiting the “Surprises” category after this week’s six-way T4. He closed in 5-under 65, including a birdie-birdie finish to ascend 19 places on the leaderboard.
The SMU alum shot a course-tying-record 63 in R2 last week at TPC Sawgrass en route to a career-tying best T3, and also shot 63 in R2 this week.
He improves to 16-for-17 on the season with six top 25s, and second top 10. Knost has jumped 46 places in the FEC standings the last two weeks to 39th.
Robert Garrigus: The 38-year-old orchestrated a 4-under 66 in the final round to wrap his 11th appearance on 13-under 267, up nine into a six-way T4.
It’s his first top 10 on TOUR since T5 at the 2014 Zurich Classic, 46 events ago. He entered the week off a season-best T28 (on 11 starts) at the Wells Fargo with a previous best at the Nelson (and only top 10) of T9 in 2012.
For the week, Garrigus tallied 22 birdies, T2 in that stat, against nine bogeys, and ranked second in SGTTG with a cumulative 11.078, including 4.938 in R4.
Bud Cauley: The 26-year-old rallied for an even-par 37-33=70 in the final round to post 13-under 267.
Playing this season on a Major Medical, he entered his second Byron Nelson (MC/2014) with 11 starts remaining to earn $588,453 and pocketed $264,625 for a six-way T4.
Cauley was in the penultimate twosome and began the final round in a three-way T3 on 13-under, three back of Koepka. He broke even with two bogeys and a double, including a bogey-double-bogey finish to his first half, erasing four birdies.
To his credit, he played his final nine holes in bogey-free 2-under to bag his first top 10 of the season (seven starts) and first since the 2014 Greenbrier -- though he missed the entire 2014-15 campaign following shoulder surgery.
Disappointments:
Jordan Spieth: For his third start in a row, the World No. 2 lands in this category. He missed the cut at THE PLAYERS in his first action since the now famous back-nine collapse at the Masters, where he led by five with nine holes remaining.
The hometown favorite began the final round in solo second on 14-under, two back of Koepka. Six bogeys against two birdies later, he turned in the tied-second-worst round of the day with 74, -4.797 strokes worse than the field average.
What We Learned:
The pre-tourney odds-favorites have won just ONCE this season thru 28 events (Spieth- Hyundai TOC). Spieth was the favorite this week at 13/2 and cratered to a T18. Garcia won at 22/1 outright.
In total, nine of the Top 25 OWGR were in the field; three finished in the Top 10:
No. 15: Garcia (P1)
No. 19: Koepka (P2)
No. 23: Kuchar (3rd)
Of the nine in the Top 25, two missed the cut:
No. 13: Louis Oosthuizen
No. 16: Brandt Snedeker
There were 24 first-timers in field of 156, including 12 (of 17) TOUR rookies.
Rookies Hiroshi Iwata (67-67-70-67) and Bronson Burgoon (68-68-67-68) paced both categories with T24s on 9-under 271.
Up Next:
The TOUR stays in Texas for this week’s DEAN & DELUCA Invitational (formerly the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial). Chris Kirk is the defending champion after winning his fourth TOUR title by one over runners-up Jason Bohn, Brandt Snedeker and Jordan Spieth.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and opinions as the TOUR readies for its 29th tournament of the season.
