Nico Echavarria birdies last hole to win golf’s Zozo Championship

INZAI – Nico Echavarria sank a short birdie putt at the final hole on Oct 27 to win his second PGA Tour title by a single stroke at the Zozo Championship in Japan.

The Colombian’s three-under 67 avoided a play-off with two-time Major winner Justin Thomas (66) and his fellow American Max Greyserman (65), who finished tied for second.

Echavarria reached the green in two at the par-five 18th and calmly rolled up a 40-foot eagle attempt to three feet before stroking home the winning putt at Narashino Country Club.

“It’s surreal, this moment is very special,” said the 30-year-old, whose previous win came at the Puerto Rico Open in March 2023.

“It’s been a good year for me, I just haven’t had that top result. I’ve been very consistent, I’ve learnt a lot this year.”

Echavarria took a two-shot lead into the final round, where he recorded five birdies to finish on 20-under 260.

A bogey at the eighth and another at No. 14 had opened the door for Thomas and Greyserman, but the Colombian held his nerve to birdie two of the final three holes for the victory.

“I don’t think I would have won this week without the victory in Puerto Rico,” he said.

“I pulled a lot of that moment in the last round on Sunday in Puerto Rico. I used it a lot this week to stay patient, stay calm.

“This is a very challenging course. There’s a lot of hard holes and I was able to use that in my favour and I was able to get it done and beat two amazing players.”

Thomas, who had been looking to end a more than two-year title drought since his second Major win at the 2022 PGA Championship, also birdied the 18th for a four-under 66.

“It’s a mixture of obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” said Thomas.

“I played well enough to win the tournament. Hit so many good putts today that just didn’t go in, that’s the difference.

“I needed some of those ones that burned the edge to fall.”

Greyserman had four birdies on the front nine and another on the 14th, but his birdie attempt at the last hole to force a play-off rolled agonisingly wide as he finished with a 65.

“Didn’t quite execute down the stretch when I needed to,” the 29-year-old said.

“Nico stepped up there and he hit a great second shot.

“He earned it.”

American Rickie Fowler was alone in fourth, three shots behind Echavarria, after a final-round 64.

Xander Schauffele, the winner of two Majors in 2024, finished in a tie for 41st after a 69.

Defending champion Collin Morikawa ended tied 54th at three under with a 71.

In South Korea, An Byeong-hun beat fellow South Korean Tom Kim in a play-off at the Genesis Championship on Oct 27 to win his second DP World Tour title and first for almost 10 years.

The home pair thrilled large crowds at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club in Incheon, near Seoul, as they both carded final-round 67s to finish level on 17 under 271.

They went back down the 18th where Kim found trouble in the shape of the hospitality stands surrounding the green and could make only a bogey, leaving An a tap-in for victory.

Six players at one stage held the lead or a share of it during a dramatic final round.

“It’s great, I’ve had a great season obviously, it’s been too long (to win) on the main tour,” the 33-year-old An said.

“All I tried to do is show some great golf in front of the home fans, it’s been a while since I’ve played in front of them.”

On the women's tour, world No. 4 Yin Ruoning shot a superb final-round seven-under 65 to win her second tournament in three weeks at the LPGA Tour’s Maybank Championship in Malaysia on Oct 27.

The 22-year-old highest-ranked Chinese golfer is in red-hot form on the tour’s Asian swing, having won on her home turf in Shanghai a fortnight ago.

She took her third win of 2024 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club by finishing on 23-under 265, a stroke clear of Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul (66). AFP