Nick Taylor gained the Sony Open in a dramatic playoff on Monday following a shocking play on the 72nd gap that pressured further holes.
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Taylor seemed sure to be out of the image on the PGA Tour occasion after lacking two four-foot putts for birdie on the fifteenth and sixteenth holes, leaving him two photographs behind heading to the 18th.
The Canadian then performed to behind the inexperienced of the par-five, leaving him with a 59-foot chip for the eagle he would want to hitch Nico Echavarria within the lead on 16-under.
That’s when Taylor put his two simple birdie misses behind him with an unimaginable clutch shot that discovered the underside of the cup to finally put him in a playoff in opposition to Echavarria.
“Are you kidding me?” the commentator mentioned. “An unbelievable end by Nick Taylor.
He later described the closing sequence as “completely nuts”.
Taylor then gained the playoff on the second gap, placing his placing demons behind him with a three-foot birdie putt that clinched the win.
“I’m a bit surprised this labored out this manner,” Taylor mentioned.
“To have the ability to hit a pleasant pitch, unlucky for Nico to hit a three-putt there to open the door for me, however figuring out I can rise to the event, it’s fairly enjoyable.”
Earlier, JJ Spaun and Stephan Jaeger each made bogeys late of their rounds to drop out of a share of the lead and miss the playoff.
Taylor takes dwelling $1.566 million (A$2.53m) for the win.
Taylor has historical past of clutch performs when in competition earlier than. In 2023, he turned the primary Canadian to win the nation’s Open since 1954 after he drained a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff gap.
In profitable on Monday, Taylor turns into the primary participant to win a PGA Tour playoff in three-striaght years since Bubba Watson in 2010-2012.
Echavarria, 30, missed out on including to a trophy haul that included the 2023 Puerto Rico Open and the Zozo Championship three months in the past in Japan.
“I misjudged the lag putt on the final gap. I didn’t assume it was going to be that gradual. Didn’t think about the wind,” Echavarria mentioned. “However only one dangerous putt can’t outline an excellent week.”
Taylor and Echavarria every fired a five-under par 65 within the closing spherical to complete 72 holes on 16-under 264.
– Rigidity-packed putts –
On the primary further gap, the par-5 18th, Taylor was simply shy of the inexperienced and chipped to 10 ft whereas Echavarria’s second shot landed simply off the inexperienced and he chipped to simply past 5 ft.
Taylor sank his pressure-packed birdie putt and Echavarria adopted by making his tension-filled birdie putt to power a second playoff gap at 18.
Taylor was once more wanting the inexperienced whereas Echavarria’s second shot clung to the again fringe of the inexperienced. However Taylor chipped inside three ft of the opening whereas Echavarria left his 39-foot eagle putt seven ft wanting the opening.
Echavarria’s birdie putt went proper of the opening whereas Taylor sank his to win the trophy.
American J.J. Spaun and Germany’s Stephan Jaeger, who battled for the lead a lot of the day, shared third on 265, one stroke forward of People Eric Cole, Jackson Suber, Adam Schenk, Patrick Fishburn and 2025 US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.
Jaeger stumbled with a bogey at 16 after sending his tee shot out of bounds whereas Spaun made bogey on the par-3 seventeenth to fall again and missed a birdie putt from simply outdoors 10 ft on the 18th gap to overlook out on the playoff.