The stats that defined May on the PGA Tour

By the time Sam Burns narrowly missed his birdie putt at the 72nd hole of the Charles Schwab Challenge, eight groups still remained on the course at Colonial Country Club.

That included, of course, world number one Scottie Scheffler, who was aiming for his fifth victory in his last 10 starts. He entered the final round two shots clear of the rest of the field and was well on his way to becoming the first player since Tom Watson more than four decades ago to register five wins before June.

But Burns had other ideas. Scheffler's best friend carded a front-nine 30 to pull to nine-under for the week, then held on with an even-par back nine to force a playoff with the FedExCup leader, who posted a two-over 72 as conditions stiffened in the afternoon. Burns went on to beat his longtime pal with a 38-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.

"Man, just starting the day seven back, I figured with how tough it was going to be playing that if I went out and posted a really good number, who knows what can happen?" Burns said. "Scottie has been playing unbelievable. I mean, it's just a really hard golf course with a lot of wind and crazy things happen, and fortunately I was able to sneak into a playoff and make that putt there on 18."

But was it fortune or skill that delivered Burns the victory? The numbers suggest the latter. The LSU product posted a final-round Strokes Gained: Total of +7.275, the best by a winner on the PGA Tour this season and the fifth-best final round of any player this season. The next-best total by a winner this year was Hudson Swafford, who posted a +6.914 total at The American Express, while Sungjae Im's +6.847 final round total helped him win the Shriners Children's Open.

The seven-shot comeback tied the largest final-round comeback by a Charles Schwab Challenge winner, matching Nick Price in 1994, who knocked off Scott Simpson after the 1987 U.S. Open champion entered Sunday four shots clear of the field.

JT does it, too

Burns wasn't the only one to register a wild Sunday comeback. In fact, just one week prior Justin Thomas did the same at the US PGA Championship, chasing down 54-hole leader Mito Pereira to win the second PGA title of his career.

He, too, came back from seven shots behind the leaders before taking down Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff. It marked the third-largest final round comeback in a major championship during the modern era (since 1934), matching John Mahaffey at the 1978 PGA Championship and Arnold Palmer at the 1960 U.S. Open. Only Paul Lawrie (10 shots back at the 1999 Open Championship) and Jack Burke Jr. (eight shots at the 1956 Masters) overcame more dire odds.

"I was eight back with 10 holes to go. That's unfathomable," Thomas said. "If I was looking at leaderboards, I probably would not have thought I even had a chance to win. It's a huge learning lesson for me.

"You've got to play golf. Those majors and in golf tournaments, anything can happen. I just kind of kept plugging along, and somehow it happened. It was a whirlwind of a weekend."

Much like his colleague Burns, Thomas relied on an epic putting performance to seal the win. His +1.58 average in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week was the fourth highest of his Tour career, behind the 2017 PGA Championship—which he also won with a +1.81 average—and the 2017 Sony Open in Hawaii, which he also won thanks to a +1.89 average.

Strangely enough, the best putting performance of his career came at the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open, where a +2.53 average was only good for a tie for 10th.

K.H. Lee joins rarified air

K.H. Lee has joked in the past that his goal is to become "the PGA Tour's sexiest golfer". But will he settle for the nickname "Texas Tactician"?

The Korean joined legends of the game Sam Snead (1957-58), Jack Nicklaus (1970-71) and Tom Watson (1978-1980) as the only players to successfully defend their title at the AT&T Byron Nelson.

"It's amazing," Lee said of the feat. "I can't believe it. Just hopefully people remember my name."

The Texas locals certainly will. The Korean's final-round 63 tied Peter Thomson for the lowest final round by a champion (the five-time Open Champion first set the mark in 1956).

But perhaps most impressive from the 30-year-old was all the red numbers he had to overcome to win. PGA Tour players feasted on the TPC Craig Ranch course, as 2,228 birdies were recorded over 72 holes—the most at any Tour event since 1983—and 104 more eagles, the second most in that timeframe.

Lee shot a nine-under 63 on Sunday to post a four-day total of 26-under. That's one stroke better than the Byron Nelson tournament record of 25-under, which—you guessed it—Lee shot the year prior.