The 38-year-old veteran pro was tied for the lead at the 17th hole at Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course and facing 209 yards to the green at the toughest hole on the back nine. With the wind, which had been non-existent all week, picking up he switched from a 7-iron to a 5-iron and struck a beauty that bounced on the fringe and rolled to inside 3 feet to set up the winning birdie.
Jon Rahm began the bold new year on the PGA TOUR by coming from seven shots behind to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday with plenty of help from Collin Morikawa.
Rahm was six shots behind on the 13th hole at Kapalua when he ran off three straight birdies and a 12-foot eagle putt, and his final birdie gave him a 10-under 63.
No one ever finished more under par in PGA TOUR history than Cameron Smith, and he never could appreciate it until his final birdie putt Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Smith, who jumped 30 spots to No. 3 in the FedExCup standings, finished at 34-under 258, and some context is in order.
Harris English went more than seven years without winning on the PGA TOUR, and he didn't mind going one extra hole to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday. English won for the third time in his career, and his first title since the Mayakoba Classic at the end of 2013, his second victory of that year.
A new year brought out the best in Dustin Johnson, who powered his way to an 8-under 65 and an eight-shot victory Sunday in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He finished at 24-under 268. The eight-shot margin of victory was his largest ever, and it was one short of the tournament record set by David Duval since this event moved to Kapalua in 1999. Jordan Spieth also won by eight shots in 2016.
Justin Thomas had to sweat it out more than he wanted to enjoy that view down the 18th hole at Kapalua on Sunday. Thomas had a five-shot lead with five holes to play when he was caught in a battle with Hideki Matsuyama down the stretch in the SBS Tournament of Champions. Thomas responded with a defining shot in his young career, an 8-iron approach he ripped from 214 yards to 3 feet on the 17th.
Spieth crushed the winners-only field by closing with a 6-under 67 to become only the second player in PGA Tour history to finish a 72-hole tournament at 30-under par or lower. An 8-foot birdie on the final hole put him at 30-under 262, one short of the record Ernie Els set at Kapalua in 2003.
Patrick Reed never thought he had a serious chance to win at Kapalua until he stood over an 18-foot birdie putt in a playoff Monday. Like so many other times in his young career, he didn't waste it. Four shots behind with four holes to play, Reed made two birdies, holed an 80-yard shot for eagle and got just enough help from Jimmy Walker to win the Hyundai Tournament of Champions for his fourth career PGA TOUR victory.
Johnson, starting his 11th season on the PGA Tour, won for the 11th time in his career. Since his rookie season in 2004, only Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh have won more on the PGA Tour. It also was Johnson's third win in his last six starts, dating to the BMW Championship outside Chicago in September that qualified him for this winners-only tournament in Kapalua.
Johnson, who prepared for the tournament by playing six practice rounds at the Plantation Course, birdied two of his final four holes to increase his winning margin at four shots over Stricker, finishing with a final-round 68 and a tournament score of 16-under.
Stricker shot a final round of four-under (par) 69 in Monday's final round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions on the 7,392-yard, par 73 Plantation Course at Kapalua to beat Martin Laird by three shots, and Jonathan Byrd and Webb Simpson by four each. Stricker's final round gave him a total of 23-under (par) for the tournament.
Byrd had an 18-foot birdie putt in regulation to win. He had a 10-foot birdie on the 18th in the playoff to win. No putt came closer than his 50-foot effort on No. 1 in the playoff, the ball just touching the high side of the hole. He tapped in for par, and standing to the side of the green, began planning his next shot in the playoff at the par-3 second.