Gomez wins Sony Open in a playoff over Snedeker

Overnight co-leader Zach Blair crafted a 3-under-par 33-34=67 in the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii to conclude his second appearance at 19-under 261, one shot shy of a two-man playoff involving Brandt Snedeker and eventual champ Fabian Gomez.

Fabian Gomez, of Argentina, hits from the tee box on the first hole during the final round of the 2016 Sony Open today at Waialae Country Club.

Padraig Harrington finished on seven under par, 13 shots off the winning mark.

Starting four shots out of the lead in the final round, the 37-year-old Gomez ran off seven birdies that allowed him to soar into the lead.

Snedeker made five birdies and five pars over the final 10 holes of regulation – including a birdie on the 72nd hole – to force the playoff.

Snedeker opted to lay up and then chip to within 10 feet for birdie above the hole.

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. This victory will move him just outside the top 50 in the world rankings, greatly improving his chances of playing in the Olympics this summer.

“I had some good looks coming down the stretch, and uncharacteristically, I hit some pretty weak putts”, Snedeker said. “Then on the first playoff hole, leaving that putt short is going to probably sting tonight and tomorrow”.

Blair, a PGA Tour rookie a year ago, briefly seized the outright lead by sinking an 18-footer at the 15th before Snedeker, playing one group behind, followed suit from half that range on the same hole.

Snedeker boasted a 2-0 record in play-offs, but it was Gomez who would prevail as he shot a par in the first play-off hole – which his American opponent matched with a long-range putt.

With the win, Gomez became the fourth Argentine with multiple triumphs on the PGA Tour, alongside Emiliano Grillo, Roberto de Vicenzo, Jose Coceres and Angel Cabrera. This time, Snedeker couldn’t match him.

Si Woo Kim, the 20-year-old from South Korea, finished strong with a birdie and an eagle for a 65 that put him two back.

Kevin Kisner recovered from a 5-iron that wound up on the other side of the corporate tents behind the par-3 17th for his only bogey of the round. But with birdies around the turn, an 8-foot birdie on the 14th and Gomez making those two bogeys, he was right back in the mix. Neither reached the green with their second shots.

In the second tournament since the ban on anchored strokes typically used for long putters, Blair was asked to review his stroke on the 17th before signing his card.