Livescore
Nick Taylor continues to thrive when it’s time for extra golf.
Taylor tapped in a birdie putt from 2 feet, 9 inches on the second playoff hole at the Waialae Country Club on Sunday to win the Sony Open over Nico Echavarria. It was Taylor’s fifth PGA Tour title, the last three coming in playoffs.
The first of those playoff victories was in Taylor’s native country, the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, when he made a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth extra hole to beat Tommy Fleetwood.
Taylor (65) had another sensational shot in him at Waialae. He chipped in for an eagle from 59-1 at No. 18 in regulation to earn his spot in the playoff at 16-under-par 264. Echavarria (65) birdied the final hole on a nifty up-and-down from a bunker to join him after the two spent most of the back nine chasing leaders JJ Spaun (68) and Stephan Jaeger (67), who tied for third at 15-under but faltered on the final three holes.
Taylor took advantage of Echavarria three-putt
Taylor and Echavarria birdied No. 18 on the first playoff hole and returned to the 18th tee again.
Taylor had a 46-yard pitch to the green on the second turn at the 18th, and the ball came to rest less than 3 feet from the hole. Echavarria, who was seeking his third PGA Tour title, three-putted from 39 feet off the back edge of the green.
It was the second playoff in a row at Waialae, the third in the last four years and the fourth in the last six years.
Spaun, Jaeger went in front early
Spaun and Jaeger made three birdies each on the first nine to put some distance on the rest of the contenders and after they both birdied the par-3 eighth hole, Spaun led at 16-under and Jaeger was 15-under.
After a run of four pars in a row, Jaeger dropped a 30-foot putt for birdie at No. 14 to tie Spaun, who then made a 28-footer for par. Jaeger conjured a bogey at the next hole after pulling his tee shot out of bounds and into a swimming pool (he made a 17-foot putt) but Spaun missed a chance to take a two-shot lead when he missed a 10-foot birdie attempt.
Spaun failed to get up-and-down from the left bunker at the par-3 17th to fall to 15-under and Echavarria caught him with a 12-foot birdie putt at No. 16.
Taylor and Echavarria then staged their heroics at the 18th hole to finish at 16-under. Spaun and Jaeger needed birdies at the last to join the playoff but both missed the fairway, Spaun left and Jaeger in a fairway bunker right.
Spaun eventually had a 10-foot birdie attempt, missing to the right and Jaeger’s second shot caught the lip of the bunker, he sent a 228-yard third shot soaring over the green and didn’t come close to the chip-in he needed for birdie.
Taylor missed numerous chances to win in regulation
Taylor could have ended it in regulation but missed six consecutive birdie-putt attempts between Nos. 12-17, including putts of 4-6 at the 15th and 3-11 at the 16th.
Eric Cole (68) was solo fifth at 14-under and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (68) was among a group of four players tied for sixth at 13-under.
Last week’s winner at The Sentry, Hideki Matsuyama, eagled both par-5 holes, the second on a putt of 14-9 at No. 18, and shot 66 to tie for 16th and maintain his leads on the PGA Tour FedEx Cup (749 points) and money list ($3,732,676).
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sony Open: Nick Taylor wins with chip-in for eagle, birdie in playoff
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