Gary Woodland was superb on Super Bowl Sunday.
The 33-year-old Woodland shot 7-under-par 64 in the final round and then made a par on the first playoff hole to beat Chez Reavie in the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale.
“I put in a lot of work in the off-season and it paid off,” said Woodland, who earned his third victory on the PGA Tour, but the first since the 2013 Reno-Tahoe Open. “I needed a lot of work on my short game and got help from (instructor Pete Cowan). And I stayed aggressive off the tee and with my irons.
“This is just the beginning. I want to keep growing and getting better, but I’m happy where I am right now.”
Reavie, 36, who played nearby at Arizona State and lives not far from the course, thrilled the crowd by sinking a 21-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation to cap a 67 and equal Woodland’s score of 16-under 266.
However, he missed a similar putt that would have prolonged the playoff.
“I played great all week, made a lot of putts, and it’s just unfortunate that I made a bogey on the playoff hole,” said Reavie, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2008 RBC Canadian Open. “The putt on the last hole ranks up there with the one I made to win in Canada.”
Brendan Steele of Idyllwild and UC Riverside collected three birdies on each nine in a 67 that left him three shots back in a tie for third with Ollie Schneiderjans, who birdied four straight holes through No. 15 in a 65.
Local favorite Phil Mickelson, a three-time winner in Phoenix, birdied three in a row through No. 17, but closed a 69 with a double bogey-6 to finish four shots behind in a tie for fifth with Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, who shot 70, Matt Kuchar, who had a 67, and Chesson Hadley, who finished with a 68.
Martin Laird of Scotland and Brian Gay carded 68s a wound up five down in a tie for ninth.
Second-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, another former Sun Devil, posted a 72 to finish in a tie for 11th that included seventh-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, who had at least a share of the lead after the second and third rounds before closing with a 73.
Fourth-ranked Justin Thomas tied for 17th after a 66.
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