In McKinney, Texas, Taylor Pendrith tried to focus on making an eagle putt to potentially force a playoff, while Ben Kohles had a meltdown on the final hole that he attempted to ignore.
Moments later, Pendrith secured his inaugural PGA Tour win with a 3-foot birdie putt.
Kohles took the lead with birdies on the 16th and 17th, but ultimately bogeyed the 18th after struggling with rough and missed putts that would have forced a playoff.
Pendrith commented, "I empathize with Ben. He played really well today, especially toward the end. I've been in that position before, and it's tough. But that's golf. It's a challenging game."
Pendrith finished with a 4-under 67, totaling 23-under 261 at the TPC Craig Ranch. This victory came in his 74th PGA Tour start.
Kohles, playing near his birthplace of Dallas, shot 66 to finish one stroke behind. The 34-year-old, based in North Carolina, remains winless in 68 starts.
Kohles remarked, "I hadn't encountered rough like that all week. I did a lot of things right this week, and I'll keep reminding myself of that to put myself back in this position."
Alex Noren, a Swedish player pursuing his first PGA Tour win, finished one stroke behind Kohles. He impressed the audience with a tee shot to 2 1/2 feet on the par-3 17th and shot 65 to secure third place at 21 under.
Aaron Rai, Matt Wallace of England, and the South Korean duo S.H. Kim and Byeong Hun An finished at 20 under. Rai and Kim shot 64, An 65, and Wallace 68.
Throughout the day, Pendrith and Kohles were neck and neck, with Kohles overtaking Pendrith on several occasions. However, Pendrith's par putt on 17 and birdie putt on 18 ultimately secured his victory.
Pendrith said, "That putt on the last second just curled in, which was unbelievable and gave me a chance." He had set it up with a chip from a challenging position and another tricky par putt on the 16th hole.
Pendrith's win earns him a spot in the PGA Championship in two weeks and next year's Masters. He also qualifies for the next three $20 million signature events, starting with the Wells Fargo championship next week. Kohles and Noren also earned spots in the Wells Fargo due to their performances at the Nelson.
For the upcoming Wells Fargo and PGA events, only three of the top 30 in the world ranking participated at the Nelson.
Jordan Spieth, the highest-ranked at No. 20, missed the cut for only the second time in 12 appearances at his hometown event. Defending champion Jason Day (22nd) and Tom Kim (23rd) didn't contend, with Day finishing one shot behind Kim at 9 under.
Jake Knapp, the leader after the second round who was working as a security guard in California three years ago, shot 70 strokes to finish at 19 under. Knapp and Wallace were the only players in the top eight who had previously won a PGA Tour event.
The final round's start was delayed by 2 1/2 hours due to rain overnight, and the pairings changed to groups of three players teeing off from both sides with the allowance of lifting, cleaning, and placing shots in the fairway.
Wallace seemed to begin making progress by chipping in for birdie at 12, which was the most challenging hole of the week, and getting another birdie at the par-4 13th. However, a three-putt bogey on the par-3 15th slowed him down.
Rafael Campos, a journeyman from Puerto Rico with 13 years of experience who has spent most of his career on satellite tours, birdied five of the first six holes starting on the back nine to make the turn at 29.
The 36-year-old's performance cooled off on his second nine before he made a 48-foot putt from off the green for eagle on the par-5 ninth, finishing with a 63 and putting him at 18 under.
Taiga Semikawa, a 23-year-old from Japan who played on a sponsor exemption, also finished at 18 under after a 64.
Kris Kim, a 16-year-old amateur making his PGA Tour debut, had a difficult finish as the youngest player to compete in a final round on tour in 10 years.
Playing his last nine on the front, the son of South Korean-born former LPGA Tour player Ji-Hyun Suh had four bogeys and shot 73 to finish 6 under.
Kim, who is from England, competed on a sponsor exemption from the South Korean company and tournament title sponsor CJ Group.
LIV GOLF
SINGAPORE — Brooks Koepka secured his fourth win on the LIV Golf circuit by closing with a 3-under 68 in LIV Golf Singapore.
Koepka had four birdies and a bogey to finish at 15-under 198 for the three rounds, two strokes ahead of Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith. Leishman finished with a 66 and Smith a 64 at the Sentosa Golf Club.
Talor Gooch shot 67 and finished in fourth place, three shots behind Koepka. Jon Rahm had a 67 and tied for 10th, being the only player to finish in the top 10 in every LIV event this year. Rahm has not yet won since joining the Saudi-funded circuit in September.
Koepka became the seventh winner in as many LIV Golf events this season. He will now attempt to defend his title at the PGA Championship on May 16-19 at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ripper GC, led by Leishman and Smith, secured the team title for the second consecutive week. They finished three shots ahead of Fireballs and Cleeks.
EUROPEAN TOUR
SHENZHEN, China — Adrian Otaegui overcame a five-shot deficit to win the China Open by closing with a 7-under 65 for his fifth European tour title.
Otaegui had been behind Sebastian Söderberg after Friday — the third round was canceled due to thunder and lightning — and he won by one shot over Guido Migliozzi of Italy, who had a 67.
Otaegui had seven birdies and finished at 18-under 198. The victory moved him to No. 3 in the tour’s Asian Swing and earned him a spot in the PGA Championship, along with Söderberg and Keita Nakajima.
Söderberg tied for third after starting Sunday with a bogey. The Swedish player holed four birdies but was undone by another bogey on the 15th hole and a double bogey, finishing with a 72.
Professional Golfers' Association TOUR CHAMPIONS
Scott Dunlap won the Insperity Invitational after rain cancelled the final round on Sunday, earning him his first PGA Tour Champions title in almost 10 years.
Heavy rain in the Houston area had previously cancelled the opening round on Friday. Players completed 36 holes on Saturday, and Dunlap shot a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over Joe Durant and Stuart Appleby.
That ended up being the winning score when rain drenched The Woodlands Country Club. This was the second 36-hole event in the last three weeks on the PGA Tour Champions due to bad weather. The 60-year-old Dunlap, who shot 65-70 on Saturday, had last won in the 2014 Boeing Classic.
Steven Alker tied for fourth place and regained the lead in the Charles Schwab Cup. Bernhard Langer, playing for the first time since surgery on his left Achilles tendon three months ago, had rounds of 69-74 and tied for 31st in his return.
