Jan. 15, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. - Former Auburn SEC Champion Patton Kizzire won the 2018 Sony Open, defeating James Hahn over six playoff holes on Sunday in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the longest playoff on the PGA Tour since 2012.
Kizzire's win is his second on the PGA Tour this season, the first player to achieve the feat, and jumped two spots to the top of the FedEx Cup standings where he holds a commanding early lead with 1,213 points, 452 ahead of Pat Perez's 761.
Kizzire, a 2008 graduate, was impressive from start to finish at the Waialae CC, carding four-straight rounds in the 60s, including a pair of 64s in the 2nd and 3rd rounds to finish at 17-under 67-64-64-68-263. However, Hahn climbed 12 spots in Sunday's final round with a tournament-low 62 and tied it up through the final 18 holes after Kizzire's winning birdie attempt on No. 18 missed its mark.
In the playoff, Kizzire and Hahn exchanged pars on the first three holes before each sinking their birdie attempt on the fourth and another par on the fifth. Finally, on the par-3 17th, sixth playoff hole, Kizzire was able to two-putt for par to hold Hahn off and claim the title.
The playoff was the longest on the PGA Tour since the 2012 Frys.com went eight extra holes.
Kizzire, the 2015 Web.com Tour Player of the Year, previously won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba last November, the first PGA Tour win of his career. Through seven events played this season, he has five top-25 finishes, has missed just one cut and has earned $2,903,872.
Fellow Auburn alums Jason Dufner, Dominic Bozzelli and Blayne Barber also had impressive weekends at the Sony Open, as each survived the 76 player cut. Dufner led the way with four-straight rounds in the 60s of his own (69-65-69-66) to finish in a seven-way tie for 18th at 11-under.
Dufner has finished in the top-20 of his last three events played, tying for 12th in December's QBE Shootout and tying for 11th at last weekend's Sentry Tournament of Champions.
Bozzelli (8-under 70-67-67-68-272) and Barber (2-under 68-69-72-69-278) tied for 39th and 67th, respectively.