From this point forward, Nick Taylor should only be called ‘Mr. Playoff.’
The Canadian won the Sony Open in Hawaii on the second playoff hole over Nico Echavarria, giving him the fifth PGA Tour victory of his career.
But how he got to extra holes was quite remarkable in the first place. Taylor chipped in for an eagle three on the par-5 18th to post a 16-under-par score, which gave him a share of the clubhouse lead. That miracle made up for short misses on the back nine, as he could not get two excellent birdie looks to drop on the 15th and 16th holes. Both of them were from within five feet.
On top of that, Taylor’s final round got off to a relatively poor start. He was 1-over for his round through seven holes and well out of contention. But then he flipped the switch, making four birdies in a row on the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th holes to climb back in the mix. Six straight pars followed before his eagle on the 18th.
On the first playoff hole, Taylor and Echavarria made a birdie on the par-5 18th as the Canadian drained a 10-footer. Echavarria drained his 5-footer, and they returned to the 18th tee for the second go-around. Taylor then pulled his drive into the left fairway bunker on the corner of the dogleg while Echavarria blistered his right down the middle. The Colombian had the advantage, but it was short-lived.
Taylor then hit his second shot 46 yards short of the green. From there, he hit a gorgeous chip shot to about two feet away. Echavarria then hit his approach to the back fringe but three-putted from there to hand Taylor the victory, which also secured him a trip back to Augusta National.
You should never count Taylor out, no matter the circumstances.
Sony Open in Hawaii Final Leaderboard & Payout:
* — Won in Playoff
1. Nick Taylor -16* — $1,566,000
2. Nico Echavarria -16 — $948,300
T3. J.J. Spaun -15 — $513,300
T3. Stephan Jaegar -15 — $513,300
5. Eric Cole -14 — $356,700
T6. Jackson Suber -13 — $281,587
T6. Adam Schenk -13 — $281,587
T6. Patrick Fishburn -13 — $281,587
T6. Keegan Bradley -13 — $281,587
T10. Jesper Svensson -12 — $195,025
T10. Nick Dunlap -12 — $195,025
T10. Paul Peterson -12 — $195,025
T10. Russell Henley -12 — $195,025
T10. Lee Hodges -12 — $195,025
T10. Harry Hall -12 — $195,025
T16. Hideki Matsuyama -11 — $132,675
T16. Webb Simpson -11 — $132,675
T16. Alex Smalley -11 — $132,675
T16. Denny McCarthy -11 — $132,675
T16. Gary Woodland -11 — $132,675
T21. C.T. Pan -10 — $80,088
T21. Sam Ryder -10 — $80,088
T21. Mark Hubbard -10 — $80,088
T21. Zach Johnson -10 — $80,088
T21. Mac Meissner -10 — $80,088
T21. Kensei Hirata -10 — $80,088
T21. Matt Kuchar -10 — $80,088
T21. Lucas Glover -10 — $80,088
T21. Brian Harman -10 — $80,088
T30. Adam Svensson -9 — $52,138
T30. Brice Garnett -9 — $52,138
T30. Sepp Straka -9 — $52,138
T30. Andrew Putnam -9 — $52,138
T30. Erik van Rooyen -9 — $52,138
T30. Bud Cauley -9 — $52,138
T30. Keith Mitchell -9 — $52,138
T37. Nate Lashley -8 — $36,975
T37. Vincent Norrman -8 — $36,975
T37. Justin Lower -8 — $36,975
T37. Kurt Kitayama -8 — $36,975
T37. Sahith Theegala -8 — $36,975
T37. Henrik Norlander -8 — $36,975
T37. James Hahn -8 — $36,975
T37. Ryan Gerard -8 — $36,975
T45. Tom Hoge -7 — $24,382
T45. Kevin Roy -7 — $24,382
T45. Ben Griffin -7 — $24,382
T45. Jeremy Paul -7 — $24,382
T45. David Lipsky -7 — $24,382
T45. David Lipsky -7 — $24,382
T45. Frankie Capan III -7 — $24,382
T45. Maverick McNealy -7 — $24,382
T53. Kevin Streelman -6 — $20,389
T53. Brandt Snedeker -6 — $20,389
T53. Thomas Detry -6 — $20,389
T53. Chan Kim -6 — $20,389
T53. Robert MacIntyre -6 — $20,389
T53. Ben Kohles -6 — $20,389
T59. Rico Hoey -5 — $19,314
T59. Charley Hoffman -5 — $19,314
T59. Ben Martin -5 — $19,314
T59. Adam Hadwin -5 — $19,314
T59. Sam Stevens -5 — $19,314
T59. Thomas Rosenmueller -5 — $19,314
T65. Matt McCarty -4 — $18,440
T65. Taylor Montgomery -4 — $18,440
T65. Tom Kim -4 — $18,440
T65. Ryo Hisatsune -4 — $18,440
69. Ben Silverman -3 — $18,009
T70. Greyson Sigg -2 — $17,748
T70. Cristobal del Solar -2 — $17,748
T72. Doug Ghim E — $17,226
T72. Luke List E — $17,226
T72. Taylor Dickson E — $17,226
T72. Vince Whaley E — $17,226
76. Aaron Baddeley +3 — $16,791
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
