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Koepka falters in playoff as Garcia wins Byron Nelson for 2nd time
In case you've forgotten, this is a Ryder Cup year. So, it's through that lens that a partisan American golf fan has to be disappointed by what transpired on Sunday at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Sergio Garcia won the tournament in what can only be seen as a collapse by a pair of leading Americans who don't have their full games on form.
First, world No. 2 Jordan Spieth, with a game held together for the first three days by the glue of his remarkable ability to chip and putt, fell apart. He shot 4-over 74 to drop from solo second into a tie for 18th place.
Then, 54-hole leader Brooks Koepka, who also said Saturday he was struggling with his ballstriking, surrendered control of the tournament with shaky chipping and putting. He made consecutive bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 at TPC Four Seasons in Dallas, missing a 17-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole that could have salvaged the win. He missed, shooting 1-over 71, drawing into a playoff with Garcia, who shot 2-under 68 despite putting two balls in water hazards in a windy final round.
On the first and only playoff hole, Kopeka went first and pulled his tee shot into the water hazard guarding the left side of the 18th hole. Undaunted, Garcia also hit driver on an aggressive line that found dry land. After a drop, Koepka made an uninspired gouge at his third shot that came up 20 yards short of the target. Garcia found the green, made par and won the Nelson for the second time in his career, 12 years after his first win in a playoff.
Garcia now has as many PGA Tour wins -- nine -- as the late Seve Ballesteros, who until Sunday had the most among Spaniards. (Ballesteros did it in 151 starts, while Garcia did it in 301.)
For as disconcerting as the final round was for Spieth and Koepka, Americans dominated the top nine, with Matt Kuchar finishing alone in third at 14-under 266, one shot out of the playoff. Six players -- including five Americans -- finished tied for fourth: Colt Knost, Bud Cauley, Robert Garrigus, Spencer Levin, Charles Howell III and Aussie Tim Wilkinson.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
