Gomez wins Sony Open
Fabian Gomez of Argentina won the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii after a playoff victory against American Brandt Snedeker on Sunday.
Gomez, who had led at one stage by two shots with six holes remaining, won the playoff on the second extra hole, par-five 18th, by two putting for a birdie while Snedeker missed his first putt from ten feet.
The 37-year-old Gomez started the final round four shots off the pace but he nailed seven straight birdies starting on the sixth hole then followed that with back-to-back bogeys that opened the door for overnight co-leaders Snedeker and Zac Blair.
He holed a ten foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and on the 18th made a 20-foot birdie for a round of 62 to finish at 20-under 260.
Snedeker made a birdie on the 18th for a 66 to force the playoff.
Blair led by two shots after eight holes before finishing in third at 19-under after shooting a 67.
On the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, Snedeker came close to winning but missed a 12-foot birdie.
"I am very proud of myself," Gomez told Golf Channel. "My caddie's father passed away recently, just a few weeks ago, and this win is in his name.
"I felt pretty good during the round but with those two bogeys (on 13 and 14), I lost momentum and I felt a little nervous towards the end. But that birdie putt on 17 then gave me confidence."
Snedeker said that he was disappointed when asked about his round.
"Obviously disappointed," said Snedeker. "I had some good looks coming down the stretch and uncharacteristically I hit some pretty weak putts.
"I fought hard, and gave myself a chance but, all in all, I couldn't figure out a way to get it done and I didn't do it," he added.
Leading Sony Open Scores:
260 – Fabian Gomez (ARG) 69-64-65-62, Brandt Snedeker (US) 63-65-66-66
261 – Zac Blair (US) 65-65-64-67
264 – Kim Si-Woo (KOR) 64-67-65-68
265 – Greg Owen (ENG) 69-65-67-64, Kevin Kisner (US) 63-66-66-70
266 – Jamie Lovemark (US) 67-69-65-65, Graham DeLaet (CAN) 73-62-65-66
267 – Zach Johnson (US) 64-66-70-67, Jerry Kelly (US) 65-66-69-67, Hudson Swafford (US) 66-69-65-67, Jason Dufner (US) 67-67-65-68
268 – Scott Piercy (US) 65-66-71-66, Jimmy Walker (US) 69-68-65-66, Daniel Summerhays (US) 67-65-70-66, William McGirt (US) 69-65-68-66, Morgan Hoffmann (US) 63-68-72-65, Harold Varner (US) 69-68-66-65, Brian Harman (US) 68-69-66-65, David Lingmerth (SWE) 65-71-68-64, Kyle Stanley (US) 68-66-70-64, Ryan Palmer (US) 66-67-67-68, Charles Howell (US) 64-69-67-68, Tim Clark (RSA) 66-69-65-68, Gary Woodland (US) 66-67-66-69, Matt Kuchar (US) 71-66-62-69, Webb Simpson (US) 67-67-65-69
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