Phoenix Open 2020: Webb Simpson Defeats Tony Finau in Playoff

In a week the sports world—and the PGA Tour—honored Kobe Bryant, it's only right the winner of the 2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open came through in the clutch.

Webb Simpson concluded his tournament with three straight birdies, including one on the first playoff hole, to come from behind and defeat Tony Finau in Sunday's fourth round.

Simpson finished at 17 under overall and shot a two-under 69 on Sunday, draining birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 to force a playoff before putting Finau away for good. 

The win is Simpson's sixth on the PGA Tour and first since the 2018 Players Championship. It atones for his playoff loss to Hideki Matsuyama in the 2017 event. 

A crowd favorite, Finau's loss continues his string of coming up short. Finau has five top-10s in the last eight major championships, but he has just one PGA Tour victory. 

The 30-year-old, who has honored the late NBA star throughout the event, wore a Bryant jersey on No. 16—a hole the PGA chose to honor Bryant by placing the pin 24 paces on and eight to the left:

"I'm a huge Kobe fan, huge Lakers fan my whole life and, obviously, tragic news, but I think as we look forward, we can honor what he's done," the Utah native told reporters.

Simpson's comeback victory was anything but easy. He entered the day one stroke down to Finau before making things all square with a birdie at No. 5. The pair traded off bogeys—Simpson at No. 7 and Finau one hole later—to make the turn tied at 15 under overall. 

A North Carolina native, Simpson took the lead for the first time on No. 10 when he nailed an approach within four feet for an easy birdie. Finau's apparent tournament-winning stretch came on Nos. 12 and 13, as he hit a putt from nearly 18 feet out to birdie the par-three and followed it up with a nine-footer on the par-five 13th. 

The 34-year-old gave Finau another stroke cushion when his drive on the par-five 15th went into the water, forcing him to settle for a bogey. The two each parred No. 16 and then seemingly went into the final two holes with Finau just needing to avoid disaster for a win.

Simpson had other plans. He nailed his drive onto the green on the short par-four 17th before hitting a beautiful 50-foot putt that gave him a tap-in for birdie. Another rip down the fairway and solid approach put Simpson a little more than 17 feet for a tying birdie, which he knocked down and watched as Finau just missed his own tournament-winning birdie.

Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson and Nate Lashley finished in a tie for third at 14 under.