Thomas Detry Wins the WM Phoenix Open by Seven, Becomes First Belgian PGA TOUR Winner

Sixty-eight starts, two runner-ups and a lot of near misses. On Sunday at TPC Scottsdale, Thomas Detry finally got to the finish line, and he got there with a victory lap.

Detry shot a 6-under 65 to win the WM Phoenix Open at 24-under 260, seven shots clear of Daniel Berger and Michael Kim, who both closed with 67 to tie for second at 17 under. Jordan Spieth (68) and Christiaan Bezuidenhout (66) tied for fourth at 16 under. It is Detry's first PGA TOUR title, and it makes him the first Belgian ever to win on the TOUR.

Nerves? What Nerves?

The front nine was the only stretch where Detry looked even slightly human. He rolled in a 12-footer for birdie on the first, then failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker on the second for a bogey. A birdie on the par-5 third got that shot right back, and he turned in 1-under 34 with his five-shot overnight lead intact and briefly stretched to six.

Detry credited a calm he had been building all week. Per the AP, he meditated and took an ice bath before each of his final two rounds, and the PGA TOUR reported that he has been working with a psychologist and meditation over the last two years, with his wife Sarah and a cousin pushing him in that direction.

"Today I paid more attention," Detry said. "I really didn't have any nerves."

Berger Makes a Push

If anyone was going to make Sunday interesting, it was Berger. Berger birdied the 12th and 13th, chipped in to save par on the 14th and birdied the par-5 15th, and at one point the gap was down to three. For a few holes, there was a real tournament.

Then the 16th bit back. Berger's tee shot bounced through the green on the stadium hole and led to a bogey, and the momentum was gone. Afterward, Berger was gracious about the man who beat him.

"He was playing really great golf today and he was deserving to win this," Berger said.

Four to Finish

Detry's answer to the pressure was the best stretch of his week. He birdied the 470-yard 11th, the hardest hole on the course, to get to 20 under. He three-putted for par on the 13th and did not flinch, which is exactly what the mental work was supposed to produce. Then he closed with four straight birdies.

He two-putted the par-5 15th for birdie. On the 16th, in front of the packed stadium, he hit his tee shot to 16 inches. He got up and down for birdie on the drivable 17th, then poured in a 9-footer on 18 to finish it off, per the AP, and his family came out to meet him on the green.

The final tally: rounds of 66, 64, 65 and 65, a back nine of 31 on Sunday and a seven-shot margin over a field that included the world No. 1. It was his first professional win since the 2016 Bridgestone Challenge on the Challenge Tour.

What the Win Means

The checks and points matter. Detry earned $1,656,000 and 500 FedExCup points, while Berger and Kim each took home $818,800 and 245 points. His TOUR membership is now secured through 2027 in the winners category, per the PGA TOUR. He was already exempt into the Signature Events, THE PLAYERS, the Masters and the PGA Championship, so this one was about something bigger than a schedule.

It was about the label. Before Sunday, Detry was the talented Belgian, a two-time Olympian and former Illinois standout who had come close at the 2022 Butterfield Bermuda Championship and last year's Texas Children's Houston Open. Now he is a PGA TOUR winner, and the first from his country. Justin Thomas, who first met Detry at the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup, called him "Freakishly talented," per the PGA TOUR. That talent finally has a trophy to go with it.

The Rest of Sunday

Spieth's week was a win of a different kind. Spieth shot 33 on the front to reach 15 under but made only one birdie over his last 11 holes. Still, a tie for fourth in his second event back from wrist surgery is a big step.

"All in all, it was a big progress week for me," Spieth said.

Thomas saved the best shot of the day for the last hole, holing out from 103 yards for eagle on 18 to shoot 65 and tie for sixth at 15 under with Will Chandler and Robert MacIntyre. "I felt like I played a lot of great golf and did a lot of really good things this week," Thomas said.

Scottie Scheffler's Sunday was a two-act play. The two-time champion here went out in 31 to get to 14 under and briefly looked like a threat, then came home in 41 for a 72 and a tie for 25th in his second start since his hand injury. Rasmus Højgaard, who started the day tied for second, closed with 71 and tied for 12th.

The Takeaway

TPC Scottsdale is a course that hands out birdies and invites a charge, which is what makes a seven-shot romp there so striking. Detry never gave anyone the chance. He hit 35 of 36 greens through two rounds, built a five-shot cushion on Saturday and then closed with four birdies on the holes where tournaments usually get lost. For a player who had spent years hearing about his potential, it was about as complete as a week of golf gets.

Belgium finally has its PGA TOUR champion, and he won it going away.

Relive the week with our Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 recaps. Final results are on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's final-round recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round recap, feature, leaderboard, points and payouts), AP, Golf Today, ESPN leaderboard. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.