Monday 2 February 2015 11:43, UK
Brooks Koepka secured his maiden PGA Tour title with a narrow one-shot victory at the Phoenix Open.
Going in to the final round in a group three shots adrift of overnight leader Martin Laird, the 24-year-old carded three birdies and a eagle in a five-under final round 67.
Koepka rolled in a 51-foot putt from short of the green at the par-five 15th for the eagle that saw him parachute clear of a crowded leaderboard.
Hideki Matsuyama had a chance to take the tournament in to a play-off with a birdie putt on the 18th, but saw his effort fall well short.
Koepka, who won on the European Tour at November's Turkish Airlines Open, then tapped home a close-range putt to secure the win.
"It feels amazing," Koepka said. "The last few weeks I've put in a lot of hard work, changing my putting stroke completely and everything seems to be going right. I'm happy to get the win."
Bubba Watson ended one-shot off the lead on 14-under, level with Ryan Palmer who carded a final round six-under 66.
Scot shocker
Laird, the 54-hole leader, was tied with Koepka until he bogeyed the driveable par-four 17th with his first three-putt after going 95 consecutive holes without one.
The Scot then found water with his drive at 18 and took a double-bogey to register a 72 for 12-under, a total shared by Spanish amateur Jon Rahm, who closed with a 68.
Jordan Spieth finished among the field a further shot back on 11-under after carding seven birdies during a six-under final round 65, although the world No 9 could have finished higher up the leaderboard had he not three-putted the last for a bogey.
“The goal (for the tournament) was to get to ten-under,” Spieth told Sky Sports. “Five birdies and no bogeys, just a clean card, I’d have been really happy with, so six-under I was very pleased with for the first one back in a very long time.
“The first couple of rounds I certainly had some rust I was getting off. Today, other than the last hole, it was really all positives.
“Probably my biggest improvement of the year was in my putting, so this year I’m just trying to continue to work on it, do the same things I did last year and try to get even better.”
