Nick Taylor Captures Fifth PGA Tour Win in Playoff at Sony Open

The Hawaii swing of the 2025 PGA Tour comes to a close at the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Nick Taylor outlasted Nico Echavarria in extra holes to win the Sony Open, birdieing the second playoff hole.  

Entering Sunday, J.J. Spaun held a one-shot lead over Stephen Jaeger, Eric Cole and Patrick Fishburn. Echavarria and Taylor were two shots back from Spaun when the final round began on Sunday. Both Taylor and Echavarria shot final rounds of 66 that were not without some blemishes. 

Taylor bogeyed two holes on the front nine along with three birdies. On the back nine, he birdied the 10th and 11th hole with a chip-in eagle on the 72nd hole to tie him for the lead with Echavarria.  After Echavarria bogeyed his first two holes of the day, he bounced back with four birdies on the front nine. His back nine included another bogey and four more birdies. Spaun had an 11-foot birdie putt to get into the playoff with Taylor and Echavarria but missed. 

Taylor and Echavarria headed to the 18th hole for the first playoff hole, both hitting the fairway with their tee shots. After missing the green with their second shots, both players chipped on and had birdie putts. Taylor put the pressure on by hitting his 10-foot putt for birdie. Echavarria calmly answered by hitting his 5-foot putt to force a second playoff hole. 

Playing the 18th hole again, Taylor hit his tee shot into the fairway bunker while Echavarria hit his in the middle of the fairway. Echavarria seemed to have the advantage after hitting his second shot just off the green while Taylor had a 50-yard wedge shot after laying up out of the bunker. Taylor hit a perfectly executed wedge to just under three feet for a tap-in birdie. Echavarria had his putt for eagle come up 6 feet short and missed his birdie putt, giving Taylor the win. 

This is Taylor’s 5th PGA Tour win and the third that he has won in a playoff. With his win today, he is now 3-0 in playoffs on the PGA Tour. Along with the $1.5 million payday, Taylor now has a spot in this year’s Masters. 

The PGA Tour moves to California next week for the American Express in La Quinta. Last year’s champion Nick Dunlap will look to defend his title after becoming the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Phil Mickelson.

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