Patton Kizzire outlasts Hahn for second win of season at Sony Open
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Patton Kizzire outlasted James Hahn in a play-off to win the Sony Open, claiming his second victory in four starts.
Kizzire became the first two-time winner of the season in a strange week at the Sony Open in Hawaii, which resulted in a six-hole playoff against James Hahn – the longest on tour since 2012.
With a false alarm for a missile strike, Golf Channel television crews striking, a six-hole playoff and Blayne Barber’s caddie ending up in the ICU in critical condition, the 2018 Sony Open week at Waialae Country Club was one that will be remembered.
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But ultimately it was Kizzire who followed his victory at the OHL Classic in November with his second PGA Tour win this season, outlasting James Hahn in Honolulu. While Kizzire closed with a 2-under 68, James Hahn fought for a place in the play-off with a 62 (the lowest round of the tournament) in the final round Sunday.
Matched at 17-under-par, the pair played five holes trading pars and birdies until Kizzire Kizzire ended the contest at No. 17. And after Kizzire lifted the trophy he immediately put his mind forward towards getting a third victory this season.
“I love trying to get better and putting myself in uncomfortable spots. That’s all I want to do is just to be somewhere that I’ve never been because that gets me uncomfortable. That’s when I know I’m doing something right,” Kizzire said after the wacky week.
“I’m just going to keep working hard. I want to get the third win. The first win was big, and this one is even bigger.”
Kizzire jumped to a huge lead in the FedExCup after becoming the first multiple winner this season. Having first won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in the fall Kizzire now has 1,213 FedExCup points – a 452-point lead over second placed Pat Perez.
What happened at the Sony Open?
On Friday evening, Blayne Barber’s caddie Cory Gilmer was hospitalized and admitted to the neurological ICU after he fell and hit his head on the floor at a restaurant. According to Golf Digest he remained in hospital on Sunday, and Barber visited him before his final round at the Sony Open.
“He’s responsive to the extent that he’s in pain, and he said his last name, asked about his friends, asked the nurse to pray for him,” said Barber.
“But when I was there this morning, he’s essentially unconscious. The nurse opened his eyes for him and kind of pointed him towards us, and he didn’t know we were there or whatever. I’m not a doctor, but he’s not regressing, which is good at the moment. Swelling is the issue, and they’re concerned.”
On Saturday morning, an employee at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency mistakenly sent out an alert to everyone in the area that a ballistic missile was inbound to Hawaii. It was meant to be a test and wasn’t corrected for over half an hour, although defending champion Justin Thomas didn’t even get the alert…
“I actually never got (the alert) for some reason,” Thomas said. “I don’t know why, but it never went through to my phone. Tom Lovelady screen-shot it and sent it to me and asked what was going on. I was like, there’s nothing I can do. I sat on my couch and opened up the sliding door and watched TV and listened to music. I was like, if it’s my time, it’s my time.”
On Sunday, union workers for video and audio production at Golf Channel walked out, going on strike after negotiations over a new contract stalled. According to the Associated Press, the Golf Channel has been negotiating an agreement for nine months with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which is the union for tournament technicians such as camera and audio crew members.
