Gomez beats Snedeker in playoff to win Sony Open

Fabian Gomez of Argentina closed with two birdies for an 8-under 62 and then made his 11th birdie of the day on the second playoff hole to beat Brandt Snedeker on Sunday in the Sony Open in Honolulu.

Playing the par-5 18th at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu for the third time that day, Gomez scored his second birdie, building on the first that he made on the 72nd hole of regulation that landed him in overtime with a 20-under 260 total.

“I’m really, really happy”, Gomez said.

He will also improve to 55th in the world rankings, closing in on a berth in the Rio Games when golf makes its Olympic return. I got on a streak with seven putts in a row. “It depends on how things go with other players, but I feel like I will be nearly there”. The 37-year-old Argentinian birdied the 18th hole again on the second playoff hole to win his second PGA Tour title (after last season’s FedEx St. Jude Classic).

“Obviously disappointed”, the seven-time PGA Tour victor said.

Snedeker only carded the one bogey on hole four, but was nearly faultless for the remainder of the round, scoring birdies on holes nine, 10, 14 and 16 before finishing the round with a simple four-foot, two-inch putt to force the play-off.

The unheralded Blair, still seeking his first win on the United States circuit, fired a bogey-free 64 to end the day level with Snedeker, though he squandered a golden opportunity to birdie the last when he missed a putt from just three feet. And needing a 10-foot birdie to extend the playoff, he didn’t give it enough pace and watched it tail off to the right of the hole.

“Disappointing that I parred them both from the middle of the fairway and I had a couple of really good looks for birdie that I didn’t make”, the 35-year-old told Golf Channel. He said leaving his 12-foot putt to win on the first playoff hole “is going to sting today and tomorrow”.

The 2-foot putt that he pulled on the 18th hole cost him the lead, though one stroke means nothing on a course like Waialae that has produced low scores with only a moderate breeze all week. His best putts were to save par until a wild tee shot on the eighth led to double bogey, dropping him five shots behind.

He needed an eagle to join the playoff. “Unfortunately, it didn’t go in”.

Zac Blair finished a stroke back after a 67.

He struggled with the speed of the greens all week and fell flat at the start with seven pars and a bogey in his opening eight holes.