Jason Day wins first TOUR title in five years at AT&T Byron Nelson
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Written by The Associated Press
McKINNEY, Texas -- Jason Day won his first PGA TOUR event in five years Sunday, shooting 9-under 62 for a one-shot victory over Austin Eckroat and Si Woo Kim at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Day, winless in 105 starts since the 2018 Wells Fargo Championship, took his first outright lead when he broke a tie at 20 under with hometown favorite Scottie Scheffler with a chip-in for birdie at the par-4 12th.
Jason Day holes out for birdie from 37-feet at AT&T Byron Nelson
It was the second-toughest hole of the week after being converted from a par-5 from the first two years the Nelson was held at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, about 30 miles north of Dallas.
Playing on Mother's Day a little more than a year after losing his mom to cancer, Day finished 23 under while ending his victory drought the week before the PGA Championship.
The only major among the 35-year-old Australian’s 13 wins was the 2015 PGA. Day's first career PGA TOUR victory came at the 2010 Byron Nelson.
C.T. Pan finished at 21-under 263 with two eagles on the back nine in a career-low 62, driving the green on the par-4 14th and making a 24-foot putt. His eagle at the par-5 18th got him within a shot of Day.
Scheffler finished at 20 under with a final-round 65 after a par on 18, where a day earlier his second shot hit the lip of a fairway bunker and stayed in it on the way to a bogey.
Ryan Palmer, the 46-year-old Texan who lives not far from Craig Ranch, shot 68 and finished four strokes back.
With the heaviest rain coming down near the end of an off-and-on rainy final round, Day put his approach at 18 inside 3 feet. Kim's short birdie putt forced Day to make his easy tap-in before he greeted his kids and wife, who is expecting their fifth child.
Jason Day sticks approach to secure victory at AT&T Byron Nelson
Kim, who shot 63 and was 22 under with Eckroat, was trying to make it four consecutive South Korean winners at the Byron Nelson. Two-time defending champion K.H. Lee finished 11 under after a 67, his best round of the week.
Sung Kang was the 2019 winner.
Eckroat, a 24-year-old rookie from Oklahoma seeking his first TOUR victory, was two shots back in the 18th fairway, but his approach landed 68 feet from the pin. The eagle bid was 6 feet short as Eckroat settled for a 65.
China's Marty Dou, playing on his home course and also seeking his first TOUR win, shot 67 to finish 20 under. He was the first two get that low before a double-bogey on No. 8 when his second shot went out of bounds over the green.
Scheffler, the second-ranked player who could have overtaken Jon Rahm for No. 1 with a victory, was joined at 20 under by Tyrrell Hatton, who was next on the world ranking list in the Nelson field at No. 17.