HONOLULU — Nick Taylor of Canada delivered one other theatrical end Sunday, this time chipping in for eagle on the 18th gap to get right into a playoff on the Sony Open and successful with an outstanding pitch that arrange birdie to defeat Nico Echavarria.
Taylor by no means seemed like a winner at Waialae, particularly after lacking two brief birdie probabilities down the stretch. That modified all so all of a sudden when his eagle chip from 60 ft rolled in on the par-5 closing gap for a 5-under 65.
Echavarria joined him with a fantastic bunker shot for a tap-in birdie on the 18th and a 65. They completed at 16-under 264.
Taylor has 5 PGA Tour titles and gained the final three in a playoff. He needed to gap a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th on the primary playoff gap to remain alive.
Taking part in the 18th once more, Taylor went from a fairway bunker to 46 yards in need of the cup. His pitch was near excellent, touchdown on the entrance of the inexperienced and rolling with the grain and wind to only inside 3 ft.
Echavarria was simply on the collar behind the inexperienced, however his 40-foot eagle putt got here up 7 ft brief and he missed the birdie putt.
“I’m a bit shocked this labored out this fashion,” Taylor mentioned with a smile.
So was Echavarria, who gained in Japan final fall and completed one shot behind at Sea Island on the finish of final 12 months. His strategy to the 18th on the primary playoff gap appeared to be about 20 ft away on the perimeter till the wind gave it a nudge off the inexperienced into the tough.
“I misjudged the lag putt on the final gap. I didn’t suppose it was going to be that sluggish. Didn’t take into account the wind,” Echavarria mentioned. “The wind sort of held it and my lag placing as we speak was a little bit off, which is a energy of mine. However, I imply, only one unhealthy putt can’t outline a fantastic week.”
The victory sends Taylor to the Masters once more, a giant perk after a dismal finish to final season. He had gained the Phoenix Open with clutch putts in a playoff final 12 months. His finest playoff win was at residence within the Canadian Open in 2023 when he made a 70-foot eagle putt.
Stephan Jaeger and J.J. Spaun each left Waialae with loads of regrets. From the time they made the flip, it seemed like a duel between them to determine the winner, and so they placed on a fantastic present till the ultimate three holes.
Right here’s how the $8.7 million purse was paid out on the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Jaeger holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 14th to catch Spaun, who then adopted by making a par putt from simply inside 30 ft to remain tied for the lead.
Jaeger didn’t hit a fairway on the again 9 aside from an iron off the fifteenth tee, and it lastly caught up with him on the finish. He hit driver to chop off the dogleg on the sixteenth but it surely went to this point left that it was by no means discovered, presumed to be out-of-bounds.
“The one on 16 I wish to have again. Unsuitable gap to hit that shot,” Jaeger mentioned.
Jaeger did nicely to made bogey off a provisional ball to remain just one behind — Spaun missed a 10-foot birdie putt that may have given him a cushion. After which Spaun made bogey from the bunker on the seventeenth.
All of the whereas, Echavarria and Taylor rallied in inconceivable methods. Echavarria made a 15-foot par save on the fifteenth, a 12-foot birdie on the sixteenth, saved par from a bunker on the seventeenth after which hit a splendid bunker shot throughout the 18th birdie to get up-and-down for birdie.
Taylor seemed like he had misplaced his probabilities by lacking a pair of 4-foot birdie putts. He was two behind when he holed his 60-foot chip for eagle on the 18th gap.
Jaeger and Spaun wanted birdie on the par-5 closing gap to affix the playoff. Jaeger hit 3-wood off the tee and didn’t clear the bunker, and his second shot hit the lip and left him within the tough some 178 yards away. He went over the inexperienced and made par for a 67.
Spaun from the 18th fairway missed to the appropriate, the worst place to be as a result of the pin was lower to the appropriate with the wind at his again. He did nicely to get it to 10 ft, after which missed the birdie putt and shot 68.
On a day when 15 gamers have been separated by three photographs firstly, these 4 have been the one ones who severely threatened on the finish.
Hideki Matsuyama, who gained with a PGA Tour document 35-under par final week at Kapalua, closed with a 66 and completed at 11 underneath and tied for sixteenth in his bid to grow to be solely the third participant to comb Hawaii.
