Canada’s Nick Taylor knocked in a birdie putt from less than 3 feet away on the second playoff hole to win the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Taylor, who had a dramatic eagle to conclude the final round, secured his fifth PGA Tour victory after matching Colombia’s Nico Echavarria with 16-under-par 264s. They both turned in 5-under 65s in the final round.
Taylor and Echavarria were forced to repeat the par-5 No. 18 after they both birdied it on the first extra hole. Taylor made a 10-foot putt and Echavarria followed by draining a 5 1/2-footer. On the second playthrough, Echavarria missed an 8 1/2-footer for birdie to set up Taylor for the win.
Three of Taylor’s victories on tour have come in playoffs.
Echavarria, 30, was trying to post a PGA Tour victory for the third consecutive year.
Taylor’s chip-in from the fringe for an eagle 3 on No. 18 catapulted him into contention before waiting for others to finish to see if it held up.
That put him 6 under for the final 11 holes of regulation. It also was redemption after he missed back-to-back birdie putts for less than 5 feet away on the back side.
Echavarria recovered after bogeys on his first two holes. He had birdies on Nos. 16 and 18.
Third-round leader J.J. Spaun (68) and Germany’s Stephan Jaeger (67) shared third place at 15 under. They were in the final grouping and had chances to join the leaders, but both finished with pars.
Spaun, seeking his second victory on the PGA Tour, went to the par-3 17th hole with the lead, but he bogeyed there. By the time he reached the 18th tee, he had fallen behind Taylor and Echavarria.
Spaun played the first eight holes in 3 under and then recorded eight consecutive pars before the misstep on No. 17.
Jaeger stayed in contention despite a lost tee shot on No. 16. He pulled off a bogey on the hole.
Eric Cole (68) birdied the final hole to finish alone in fifth place at 14 under. There was a four-way tie for sixth place at 13 under with Jackson Suber (65), Adam Schenk (65), Patrick Fishburn (69) and Keegan Bradley (68).
–Field Level Media
