It was going so well for Belgium’s Thomas Detry that there was no reason to back off as he was winding down the WM Phoenix Open.
Detry was strong all the way to the finish, shooting a 6-under-par 65 to collect his first PGA Tour victory on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Ariz.
“It’s what dreams are made of,” he said.
Detry kept improving on his way to a 24-under 260 total and a seven-shot victory, becoming the first Belgian to win a PGA Tour event.
He put on a dazzling final-round show, playing the last eight holes in a combined 5 under with four consecutive birdies to complete the tournament. He dropped his last putt from almost 10 feet away.
“This is where I want to be and it’s pretty incredible to play golf the way I’ve been,” Detry said.
A 32-year-old former University of Illinois golfer, Detry stayed in control throughout most of Sunday. Then he stuck his tee shot about a foot from the cup to birdie the famed par-3 No. 16 Stadium Hole, building his advantage to five strokes.
“Considering the circumstances, one of the best shots of the week and of my life, definitely,” Detry said.
Detry was in his 68th PGA Tour event, with two previous runner-up finishes.
“I’ve given myself plenty of chances in the past and never been able to put a statement out like that,” Detry said.
Michael Kim and Daniel Berger, who both shot 67 on Sunday, were runners-up at 17 under.
“It was a fun last two days,” said Kim, who had only one bogey during the tournament.
There was just no catching Detry.
“I drove it well all week and I tried to just do my best to put pressure on him, but every time I felt like I made a birdie, he made one back,” Berger said. “He was playing really great golf today, and he was deserving to win this.”
Jordan Spieth (68), who began the round tied for second, couldn’t keep up and finished at 16 under, tied for fourth with South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout (66). Spieth had pars on nine consecutive holes before a birdie on No. 17, his fourth of the day along with one bogey.
“All in all, it was a big progress week for me,” Spieth said. “I didn’t feel like this was a one-off. It felt like this is just trending the right direction.”
Justin Thomas (65) finished at 15 under, capped by an eagle with a shot from the fairway on the final hole. Thomas was joined by Will Chandler (66), who made the tournament field as a Monday qualifier, and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (67) in sixth.
“I felt like I played a lot of great golf and did a lot of really good things this week, and I feel like we kind of deserved that,” Thomas said of his final shot. .”.. I don’t think I’ve ever (holed out) on the last hole of a tournament.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (72) slipped to a tie for 25th at 9 under, playing the last seven holes at 5 over that included a double bogey on the par-4 finishing hole. Earlier in the round, he had four birdies and rose to a share of fourth.
Chandler experienced the buzz of playing in a pairing with Scheffler in the fourth round. It turned out to be quite a week.
“I don’t know the history of how the Monday qualifiers have done in this event, but it’s nice,” Chandler said.
–Field Level Media
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