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Kevin Stadler takes Phoenix Open, first win of career

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Just three days short of his 34th birthday, Kevin Stadler carded a 3-under 68 in the final round of his 239th start to capitalize on Bubba Watson’s collapse en route to his first PGA Tour victory.

Stadler got off to a hot start in the final round, making three birdies on his first three holes to go 4-under on front nine. He was able to shrug off a double on No. 11 to be in position to birdie No. 17 and two putt No. 18 for the win.

The bigger story on Super Bowl Sunday was Bubba Watson’s failure to convert three solid rounds for his first win since the 2012 Masters. Watson’s final-round back nine, just like Saturday, was hampered with poor drives that cost him a stroke on No. 15 when he found the water and on the final hole. A bogey on “The Caldron” that is the par-3 No. 16 set up Stadler to tie and eventually win on No. 18.

An epic Sunday collapse by what would have been another wire-to-wire win, Watson saw his one-stroke lead erased after he hit it into a bunker on No. 16 and failed to convert a par putt. Watson ranked No. 1 in average driving distance and No. 1 for proximity to the hole for the week, but he failed to convert on the up-and-down on No. 18 to send the match to a playoff.

Canadian Graham DeLaet tied Watson at 15-under, posting a 65 in Round 4. He was in the clubhouse two groups ahead of Watson and Stadler, after seven birdies and one bogey. Graham posted a 65 on Saturday as well to get back into position from a 72 on Friday.

Phil Mickelson, an Arizona State University graduate, managed to sort out his back issues and make the cut. Posting rounds of 71-67-72-71, Mickelson struggled out of the box, finishing T42. He did manage to toss a few good spirals to the stands on Saturday on No. 16.

Brandon Steele posted a 62 on Saturday, claiming honors for the lowest round of the week. Other low rounds of 64 for the tournament were carded by former local Ryan Moore (Saturday), Brandt Snedeker (Friday) and Watson (Thursday).

With the win, Stadler moved up to seventh in the FedEx Cup standings, up 39 spots before the tournament. Other big movers include Hunter Mahan to No. 84, Watson to No. 17 and Cameron Tringale moving to No. 70.

Notables who missed the cut include Ian Poulter, Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Billy Horschel, Keegan Bradley, Padraig Harrington and Ryo Ishikawa. These players will look to rebound next week as they join the rest of the Tour field at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California.

“The Greenest Show on Grass” produced a record-breaking attendance of 189,000 on Saturday, totaling more than 560,000 for the week, at the TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course.

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Ben is new to fatherhood and resides in Maryland. A sales manager by trade, he is a die-hard Arsenal FC supporter and is obsessed with golf! Follow him on Twitter @bmoregooner

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Tom

    Feb 3, 2014 at 10:28 pm

    I was happy for Craig, I mean Kevin Stadler. He looked a little nervous on the last green, but who wouldn’t be? Congrats to him!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

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Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open

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GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.

The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.

GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.

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Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open

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GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.

As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.

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