HONOLULU – Si Woo Kim battled all day from a three-shot deficit at the Sony Open and it only got harder when he finally caught up late Sunday afternoon.
His shot from the 7-iron to the par-3 17th hit a tough patch of grass in the rough over the firm green. In the background, cheers could be heard as Hayden Buckley regained the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole.
Suddenly tough chips became easy.
“I have nothing to lose,” said Kim.
After chipping in from 30 feet with an aggressive stroke to tie Buckley, Kim bounced the 5-iron from a 236-yard bunker along dry grass and onto the green for two RBIs to win the Sony Open. bottom. A putt birdie from 40 feet and a 6-under 64.
Buckley missed a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 closing hole that would have forced a playoff.
The finish brought the sleepy Sony Open to life and gave 27-year-old Kim his fourth PGA Tour victory and first in two years.
Buckley, who started the final round two shots behind, was nine of Sunday’s top 16 players to have never won on the PGA Tour. He did his part, except for a pair of short par putts that he missed on the back nine. He finished with 68.
“Winning on the PGA Tour is the hardest and sometimes devastating thing,” said Buckley. “And I have a feeling that’s what happened today.”
Kim started the match with three birdies in a row and stayed there all day as other contenders came and went.
The turning point came on the 17th. And as much as the pressure Kim felt on his shot, Buckley’s 15-foot birdie on his putt and reaction seemed to calm him down.
“If he makes par, I’m more nervous because I have to save.” [par], especially when you get into the cereal with pressure, you’re more nervous,” Kim said. I heard a sound. “
One shot behind and felt like a birdie or a bust.
“Bogey is fine,” he said. “So I have to hit it aggressively. I think that really helps.”
He pumped first when he fell for Birdie. It was a big moment, but it wasn’t enough to make him react like he did when partner Tom Kim made a big putt in the Presidents Cup to win a Four-Ball match.
“If I played with him, I definitely would,” Kim said with a laugh. I wanted to, but I was just staying calm.”
Kim, who got married in South Korea a month ago, finished 18-under 262 and is guaranteed two weeks as the defending champion at the Sony Open and Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua next year in Hawaii.
And soon, a win would guarantee him a spot at the Masters.
Convinced he might play golf for a living after posting a 61 in a college event on Kauai once, Buckley won the FedEx Cup in a big year when only the top 70 reach the postseason. moved up to 14th place.
He was in decent form when he hit his tee shot on the closing hole of the par 5, but his approach from the right collar of the rough was flat and out to the right, taking a tough pitch that climbed the slope to the back right pin. left. It rolled about 12 feet and narrowly missed the birdie putt to force a playoff.
Buckley made nine straight pars after starting with a birdie, then a six-shot stretch on the back nine of one par, two bogeys and three birdies. His two bogeys came just inside four feet on five-foot putts and he failed to birdie on his two par-5s at Waialae.
“I feel like I made a lot of long putts, but I struggled with short putts. That goes back to Thursday,” Buckley said. “It really caught up with me at the end. I felt like I was in control for almost the entire tournament.
“Overall, I was impressed with what I did. I think I will remember this day and it will make me better.”
Chris Kirk finished alone in third place with a 68.
It was the second week in a row that someone recovered from at least three strokes to win in Hawaii, but not as much as Jon Rahm came back nine holes from six behind against Colin Morikawa at Kapalua. .
“It could happen anytime soon, like last week,” Kim said. “I tried my best on every shot. The last four holes were a little shaky.”
He missed the green on the 17th and the fairway on the 18th, two places where it was hard to find a birdie. Kim found them and walked away as a winner.
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