Today, Patton Kizzire bested James Hahn in six extra holes of sudden-death with a par 3 on the 17th hole to win the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii. Both PGA Tour players had tied in regulation 72 holes at 17-under par 263 to force the playoff. It was a record number of holes of sudden-death in this tournament’s lengthy, 53 years of history. The playoff was conducted four times on the par-five 18th hole and two times on the par-three 17th hole. Hahn had shot a low-day’s-round of 62 to get into the playoff.
Third round leader Tom Hoge had been leading the tournament all day today until he goofed up the par-four 16th hole. With a one shot lead, a drive in the fairway, a nine iron to the green, and no visible wind, he pulled his nine iron shot into the left greenside sand bunker. With a difficult third shot from there, he didn’t get out of the bunker and finished with a double bogey 6 to fall one shot behind and never recover.
This was Kizzire’s second win already in the brief PGA Tour season, which started back in October. He won his first tournament in November at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, by defeating surging superstar Rickie Fowler.
Kizzire now moves into the #1 spot in the FedEx Cup for this season, just ahead of Pat Perez and Sony World #1 ranked Dustin Johnson. Long-hitting Johnson had won last week at Kapalua Resort, also on the Oahu Island of the Hawaii chain of islands, by a whopping eight strokes over the likable Spaniard and rising star Jon Rahn.
I have many fond memories of competing in this tournament on the PGA Tour. I don’t even know how many times I played in it. After I finished the tournament, whether at Honolulu on the regular Tour or Maui on the Senior/Champions Tour, I often stayed over for a few days to slum on the beach or explore one of the seven islands.
Hawaii is such a beautiful place. The weather is always warm and sunny. The beaches are alluring. The signature ukulele, acoustical guitar music is relaxing. The ladies are always wearing flowers in their hair. And there is much interesting history to learn about the Hawaiian people. I always liked to eat a pineapple, drink from a coconut, or eat a papaya for breakfast. Lets go to Hawaii!
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