It’s hard to win on the PGA Tour. It’s even harder when you’re playing the final round in a persistent, annoying rain that creates all sorts of distractions … on top of the usual final-round distractions.
Despite all this, K.H. Lee was able to steady his nerves, keep dry enough and stay focused despite a late weather delay to shoot a closing 66, passing 54-hole leader Sam Burns and winning his first PGA Tour title at the AT&T Byron Nelson by three shots.
The win came just in time for the 29-year-old from South Korea, in his third full season on the PGA Tour and making his 80th career tour start. Lee had been third on the alternate list for next week’s PGA Championship. But the victory allowed him to grab the final spot into the official field at the Ocean Course, with PGA Tour winners being exempt into the major.
Tee times were moved up on Sunday at TPC Craig Ranch with a pending forecast that included showers and lightning. The final threesome had almost completed 16 holes when the electricity arrived, nine players needing to wait roughly 2 1/2 hours to wrap up the final round.
Lee, playing with Burns and Charl Schwartzel in the final threesome, managed to take advantage of soft conditions at TPC Craig Ranch before the rain started to come down more steadily. He birdied three of his first four holes to jump past Burns and made the turn four-under 32. He then played the back nine in a steady one-under 35, a bogey on the 16th hole after play resumed offset by a birdie on the 17th and one more on the 18th.
As for Burns, finishing second was a disappointment. This was the fourth tournament in the 2020-21 season that the 24-year-old had either led outright or held a share of the lead entering the final round, the most of any player on tour. He failed to win the first two times, but closed the deal two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship to grab his first PGA Tour win. The assumption was that getting win No. 1 would make subsequent wins a little easier, and that might still be the case, but Burns struggled early, bogeying his first and fourth holes to see Lee quickly pass him. Burns finished with a 70.
For his effort, Lee grabbed a prize money payout of $1.458 million (his biggest check on the PGA Tour previously was $649,700 for his T-2 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February). The overall prize money payout at TPC Craig Ranch was $8.1 million.
Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at TPC Craig Ranch. Come back shortly after the tournament and we’ll update the prize money payout for each golfer.
Win: K.H. Lee, -25, $1,458,000
2: Sam Burns, -22, $882,900
T-3: Patton Kizzire, -21, $395,381.25
T-3: Daniel Berger, -21, $395,381.25
T-3: Scott Stallings, -21, $395,381.25
T-3: Charl Schwartzel, -21, $395,381.25
T-7: Troy Merritt, -19, $263,250
T-7: Joseph Bramlett, -19, $263,250
T-9: Seamus Power, -18, $212,625
T-9: Jhonattan Vegas, -18, $212,625
T-9: Doc Redman, -18, $212,625
T-9: Jordan Spieth, -18, $212,625
T-13: Luke Donald, -17, $153,900
T-13: Satoshi Kodaira -17, $153,900
T-13: Harris English, -17, $153,900
T-13: Bronson Burgoon, -17, $153,900
T-17: Will Zalatoris, -16, $119,475
T-17: Hank Lebioda, -16, $119,475
T-17: Brandt Snedeker, -16, $119,475
T-17: Matt Kuchar, -16, $119,475
T-21: Lee Westwood, -15, $84,969
T-21: Carlos Ortiz, -15, $84,969
T-21: Marc Leishman, -15, $84,969
T-21: Rafa Cabrera Bello, -15, $84,969
T-21: Alex Noren, -15, $84,969
T-26: Wesley Bryan, -14, $56,700
T-26: Rob Oppenheim, -14, $56,700
T-26: Ryan Armour, -14, $56,700
T-26: Sepp Straka, -14, $56,700
T-26: Vincent Whaley, -14, $56,700
T-26: Rory Sabbatini, -14, $56,700
T-26: Keith Mitchell, -14, $56,700
T-26: Ben Martin, -14, $56,700
T-34: Jon Rahm, -13, $42,201
T-34: Mark Hubbard, -13, $42,201
T-34: Roger Sloan, -13, $42,201
T-34: Scott Brown, -13, $42,201
T-34: Adam Schenk, -13, $42,201
T-39: Talor Gooch, -12, $31,185
T-39: Brian Stuard, -12, $31,185
T-39: Johnson Wagner, -12, $31,185
T-39: Hideki Matsuyama, -12, $31,185
T-39: Pat Perez, -12, $31,185
T-39: Russell Knox, -12, $31,185
T-39: Wyndham Clark, -12, $31,185
T-39: Sean O’Hair, -12, $31,185
T-47: J.J Spaun, -11, $20,958.75
T-47: Scottie Scheffler, -11, $20,958.75
T-47: Patrick Rodgers, -11, $20,958.75
T-47: Ryan Palmer, -11, $20,958.75
T-47: Sung Kang, -11, $20,958.75
T-47: Michael Gligic, -11, $20,958.75
T-47: Nelson Ledesma, -11, $20,958.75
T-47: Brice Garnett, -11, $20,958.75
T-55: Si Woo Kim, -10, $18,630
T-55: Aaron Wise, -10, $18,630
T-55: Charles Howell III, -10, $18,630
T-55: Sebastian Munoz, -10, $18,630
T-55: Cameron Champ, -10, $18,630
T-55: Bryson DeChambeau, -10, $18,630
T-61: Mark Anderson, -9, $17,820
T-61: Wes Roach, -9, $17,820
T-61: Martin Laird, -9, $17,820
T-61: Luke List, -9, $17,820
65: Michael Gellerman, -8, $17,415
66: Bo Hoag, -7, $17,253
67: Michael Kim, -6, $17,091
T-68: Ted Potter Jr., -5, $16,848
T-68: Dylan Meyer, -5, $16,848
70: Cameron Percy, -3, $16,605
T-71: D.J. Trahan, -1, $16,361
T-71: Austin Cook, -1, $16,361
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