Scottsdale (US), February 9 Akshay Bhatia shot a solid 4-under 68 to finish tied third at the WM Phoenix Open, while his fellow Indian-American, Sahith Theegala (70), made a bogey on the 72nd hole to end tied 18th, which cost him a place in the next two USD 20 million Signature events.
However, by evening, Theegala, who had already achieved two top-10s and two other top-20 finishes in his last four starts, received a sponsor's exemption for the AT&T Pebble Beach, the first of the two Signature events.
Meanwhile, Chris Gotterup delivered a masterful finish with five birdies in the last six holes, followed by a long wait, mostly on the practice range, as Hideki Matsuyama made a bogey on the final hole to fall to 16-under, the target set by Gotterup after his 7-under 64 final round.
In the first playoff hole, Matsuyama had another wild tee shot, just as he had in the regulation play on the same 18th. Gotterup capitalized on it and birdied from 27 feet to secure his second win in 2026 and fourth in his career.
Bhatia remained under the radar and had five birdies against one bogey as he finally made up for his two missed cuts. His return to form looks promising ahead of the Signature events.
Another Indian-origin player, Sudarshan Yellamaraju (73), finished tied 54th.
After charging up the leaderboard with five birdies in six holes, Gotterup remained loose on the first tee at TPC Scottsdale. The 26-year-old knew he would need some help as Matsuyama was still on the course with a one-shot lead. Gotterup got that help.
Matsuyama won consecutive WM Phoenix Opens in 2016 and 2017, rallying both times.
Scottie Scheffler, the world No. 1, opened the tournament with a 73, then shot 65 in the second round to extend the PGA TOUR's longest active-cuts streak to 66.
Scheffler was seven behind after the second round, trimmed it to five after the third, and started moving up.
Scheffler had three birdies on the front nine and a run of three straight on the back – highlighted by a 72-foot putt from the fringe on No. 14 – that brought him within one of the lead.
A two-putt for birdie from 63 feet on No. 17 got Scheffler back within one, but he missed a 24-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to see his challenge fall short of the playoff.