Scottsdale, Feb 15 (PTI) India's Anirban Lahiri exited early but Indo-American Sahith Theegala put himself in the thick of things before finishing third in the WM Phoenix Open.

The Indian-American, who led on the second and third days, was in contention till he found water on the 17th and finished one stroke short of getting into a play-off with Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay.

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Playing on a sponsor exemption Theegala could have made history by becoming the first player since Martin Laird in 2020 to win while on a sponsor exemption.

As Theegala fell back with a bogey on 17, Scheffler outlasted Ryder Cup teammate Patrick Cantlay on the third hole of a playoff making a 25-foot birdie putt to win his maiden PGA Tour title.

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In the play-off Cantlay missed an 11-foot birdie try after Scheffler holed his putt.

Scheffler birdied four of the final six holes for a 4-under 67 to match Cantlay at 16-under 268 at TPC Scottsdale. Cantlay, playing one group ahead of Scheffler, had a bogey-free 67.

Theegala fought back tears and said, "Sorry" as he met his parents.

He added, "I thought I hit a great shot on 17. It was cutting. As long as it's another yard right, I think that's perfect. Kick straight and it's good. Kicked left into the water there. Then I was worried about the ball – it was such a steep slope."

"I was worried about the ball kind of rolling back, so I maybe rushed my process just a little bit there and hit a poor chip and hit a poor putt. I just didn't hit the shots at the right time when it counted, but definitely proud of the way I played this week."

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)