Patton Kizzire never won on the PGA Tour until this season, but now he has done it twice and leads the FedExCup standings.
Kizzire sank a three-foot par putt on the sixth playoff hole, moments after James Hahn lipped out an eight-footer, and won the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
“It wasn’t necessarily pretty out there, but it was nice to come out on top,” said Kizzire, who captured the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in November. “It was kind of a marathon playoff and there were some nerves, but I have learned to cope with them. It was fun today.
“This was huge for me and my confidence. To win once doesn’t mean a whole lot, but two means a little more and I’m always looking for the next one, so I’m super excited right now.”
Kizzire holed out for eagle from 55 yards on the 10th hole, but missed a 15-foot birdie putt to win the tournament on the final hole of regulation to finish at 2-under-par 68 and post a 72-hole total of 17-under 263.
Earlier, Hahn matched Kizzire’s total score with a brilliant 62 after making five straight birdies through No. 12, but also missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole.
Hahn, from Alameda and Cal, claimed his two PGA Tour victories in playoffs at the 2015 Nissan Open at Riviera and the 2016 Wells Fargo Championship.
“Terrible,” Hahn said of his performance in the playoff. “I had my opportunities to win in the playoff and couldn’t get it done. I’m a competitor and I hate losing. It pushes me to get better.
“I was hitting it good (in regulation), so I just kept going for every flag and hitting it close. I was counting the birdies—two, three, four, five in a row. I was hoping for one more on the last hole and didn’t get it, but that’s golf.”
Third-round leader Tom Hoge, seeking his first PGA Tour victory, held the lead until making a double-bogey 6 on the 16th hole and finished one stroke back in third.
Webb Simpson birdied the last hole for a 65 and was another shot back in a tie for fourth with Brian Stuard, who had a bogey on No. 17 in his 65, and Brian Harman, who closed with a 70 one week after finishing third in the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Gary Woodland holed a bunker shot from 48 yards for eagle at No. 9 and added five birdies on the back nine in a 64 that left him three back in a tie for seventh with Ben Martin, who birdied the last three holes for a 65, and Ollie Schniederjans, who birdied two of the last three for a 68.
Chris Kirk, the first-round leader at 63, finished with a 70 to wind up four down in a tie for 10th with Ryan Blaum (65), Russell Knox (69) of Scotland and Kyle Stanley (71).
Defending champion and third-ranked Justin Thomas shot 68 to tie for 14th, while second-ranked Jordan Spieth closed with a 66 to tie for 18th.
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