Taylor Pendrith, center, holds his son Hayes after winning the Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney Sunday. (LM Otero/AP Photo)

McKINNEY — Taylor Pendrith tried his best to ignore Ben Kohles’ final-hole meltdown, focusing on the eagle putt that the Canadian thought he might have to make even to force a playoff as he walked toward the 18th green.

Several stunning minutes later, a 3-footer for birdie gave Pendrith his first PGA Tour victory.

Kohles overtook Pendrith with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 for a one-shot lead, then bogeyed the 18th after hitting his second shot into greenside rough. Already in shock following two chips from the rough — the second with his feet in a bunker — Kohles missed a 6-foot putt that would have forced a playoff.

“Wasn’t really trying to pay attention to what they were doing, although it really mattered, obviously,” Pendrith said. “I feel for Ben. He played really, really good today, especially down the stretch. I’ve been on the other side of it a couple times, and it sucks. But it’s golf. It’s a hard game.”

Pendrith shot 4-under 67 for a 23-under 261 total at the TPC Craig Ranch. The 32-year-old won in his 74th career PGA Tour start.

Playing just north of his birthplace of Dallas, Kohles shot 66 to finish a stroke back. The 34-year-old who plays out of North Carolina is winless in 68 starts.

“Honestly, hadn’t seen any rough like that all week,” said Kohles, who moved to North Carolina when he was 10. “Just needed a little bit more umph on it. Did so many good things this week, and I’m just going to keep reminding myself of that and try to get myself back in this position.”

Alex Noren, a Swedish player also seeking a first PGA Tour victory, was another stroke back. He wowed the crowd on the stadium hole at the par-3 17th with a tee shot to 2 1/2 feet, but followed that birdie with a par knowing he probably needed an eagle on 18. Noren shot 65 and was alone in third at 21 under.

Aaron Rai and first-round leader Matt Wallace of England were at 20 under along with the South Korean pair of S.H. Kim and Byeong Hun An. Rai and Kim shot 64, An 65 and Wallace 68.

Pendrith, the third-round leader, and Kohles were separated by just one shot or tied most of the day. After Kohles made a 20-footer to take the lead on 17, Pendrith’s par putt rolled all the way around the cup and went in.

“It just curled in, that putt on the last second there, which was unreal just to give me a chance,” said Pendrith, who set it up with a chip from an awkward stance with his heels hanging over the lip of a bunker, after saving par with another testy putt at the par-4 16th.

The victory qualified Pendrith for the PGA Championship in two weeks and next year’s Masters. He’s also in the next three $20 million signature events, starting next week with the Wells Fargo championship. Kohles and Noren also played their way into Wells Fargo with their Nelson showings.

With Wells Fargo and the PGA coming in the next two weeks, just three of the top 30 in the world ranking were in the field.

Jordan Spieth, the highest at No. 20, missed the cut for just 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 second-round leader who three years ago was working as a security guard in his home state of California, shot 70 to finish at 19 under. Knapp and Wallace were the only players in the top eight with a previous PGA Tour win.

The start of the final round was pushed back 2 1/2 hours because of overnight rain, and pairings turned into threesomes going off both tees with the players allowed to lift, clean and place shots in the fairway.

Wallace appeared to start a charge by chipping in for birdie at 12, the toughest hole of the week, and getting another birdie at the par-4 13th. A three-putt bogey on the par-3 15th stalled him out.

Rafael Campos, a 13-year journeyman from Puerto Rico 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 cooled off on his second nine before making a 48-foot putt from off the green for eagle on the par-5 ninth for a 63 that put him at 18 under.

Taiga Semikawa, a 23-year-old from Japan playing on a sponsor exemption, also finished at 18 after a 64.

Kris Kim, a 16-year old amateur making his PGA Tour debut, had a rough finish as the youngest to play a final round on tour in 10 years.

Playing his final 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, played on a sponsor exemption from the South Korean company and tournament title sponsor CJ Group.

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

THE WOODLANDS — Scott Dunlap was declared the 36-hole winner of the Insperity Invitational when rain washed the final round Sunday, giving Dunlap his first PGA Tour Champions title in nearly 10 years.

Devastating rain in the Houston area previously washed out the opening round Friday. Players managed to play 36 holes on Saturday, and Dunlap posted a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over Joe Durant and Stuart Appleby.

That proved to be the winning score when rain soaked The Woodlands Country Club. It was the second 36-hole event in the last three weeks on the PGA Tour Champions because of weather. The other was in the Dallas area.

The 60-year-old Dunlap finished his 65-70 marathon with a bogey on the final hole that put him at 9-under 135.

“I think everyone knew there is a chance it could be a two rounder, but it is very dangerous to be in that mindset — ‘Oh, you are going to win,’ and then well, ‘We’re gonna play,’” he said after his round Saturday. “I did good work for the two rounds we knew were going to play.”

His only other PGA Tour Champions win was in the 2014 Boeing Classic.

Steven Alker tied for fourth 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.

The PGA Tour Champions heads to Alabama for the Regions Tradition, the first of five senior majors on the schedule.

LIV GOLF

SINGAPORE — Brooks Koepka shot a 3-under 68 on Sunday to win the LIV Golf tournament in Singapore, his fourth victory on the circuit.

Koepka finished at 15-under 198 for the three rounds, two ahead of Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith. Leishman finished with a 66 and Smith a 64 at the Sentosa Golf Club.

Koepka had four birdies and a bogey.

Talor Gooch shot 67 and finished in fourth place, three strokes behind Koepka.

Koepka has the four LIV titles to go with five major championships. The latest was the PGA Championship in 2023. Koepka was the seventh different LIV winner in seven events this season.

Koepka, who has been struggling with his game, now heads to defend his title at the PGA Championship starting May 16 at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky.

“It’s all starting to come around,” Koepka said after the victory. “I’ve put in a lot of work — on the golf course, off the golf course. So to see it pay off here is huge.”

Jon Rahm, who has yet to win after joining LIV in December, ended up six strokes behind after a 67. He finished tied for 10th. Rahm is the only player to have finished in the top 10 in all seven events in 2024.

The team title went to Ripper GC led by Leishman and Smith. They were 32-under for the tournament, three ahead of two other teams — Fireballs GC and Cleeks GC.

The next LIV tournament is June 7-9 in Houston.

CHINA OPEN

SHENZHEN, China — Adrian Otaegui overturned a five-shot deficit to win the China Open on Sunday, the Spanish golfer’s fifth tour title.

Otaegui had been trailing the in-form Sebastian Söderberg after Friday’s round – Saturday’s was cancelled because of thunder and lightning – and he shot 7-under 65 in his final round to win by one shot from Guido Migliozzi, who finished runner up with a 67.

“I was starting five shots back and I tried not to look at the leaderboard, not think about the result,” Otaegui said. “I knew if I had birdie chances that I could potentially hole a few. I think I was actually feeling more calm through the round.”

Sunday’s final round was played in a two-tee, three-ball format starting at 8 a.m. local time.

The No. 143-ranked Otaegui stayed flawless and holed seven birdies to finish at 18 under par overall. He earned a spot in the PGA Championship later this month.

Söderberg finished in a tie 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 for par in the final round.

Söderberg finished alongside Englishman Paul Waring and Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach at 16 under.

The China Open was back on the European tour schedule after an absence of five years.