KAPALUA, Maui » Had Jimmy Walker not leaked more oil than the Tin Man, no way Patrick Reed squeaks out a Hyundai Tournament of Champions win.
But that’s exactly what happened in Monday’s final round of this winners-only tournament that needed a 19th hole to declare a champion.
Leading Reed by as many as four shots after a birdie at the 10th, Walker never sank another one, allowing Reed to steadily climb back in it. The 2015 champion holed out for eagle from 83 yards at the par-4 16th, missed a par putt from 4 feet at 17 and then birdied the closing hole to post a 21-under 271 with Walker standing in the middle of the 18th fairway.
Walker needed a birdie to win it, but missed the makable putt at the last to settle for par. Both golfers returned to the 18th tee for a playoff that lasted only 15 minutes. Reed sealed the deal with an 18-footer for birdie, closing out Walker, who made a mess of things down the stretch while most everyone else on the leaderboard sank nearly everything in sight.
Reed shot a closing 6-under 67 to catch Walker, who countered with a 69 of his own. Jason Day shot a course-tying 62 to finish in a tie for third at 20-under 272 with first-round leader Russell Henley (67) and Hideki Matsuyama (70), who could have joined in the playoff fun had he sunk a 9-footer for birdie at the last hole. He yanked it left to leave Reed and Walker alone at the top in one of the more exciting finishes in this West Maui event.
"The main thing all week for us was stay patient," Reed said. "It’s windy out here, give yourself some looks for birdie and just try to make some putts. On 18 (in the playoff), I gave myself a chance with the putt and I made it."
This is the fourth PGA Tour win for Reed, who is a rising star on tour. He began the day tied for third, two shots behind Walker and Matsuyama. He didn’t do anything spectacular on the front, parring the first four holes before securing birdies on the two easy par-5s to make the turn at 17 under.
But birdies at 10, 15 and 18, coupled with the spectacular eagle shot at 16, were just enough to catch his fellow Texan.
"On 16, the best tee shot sets up perfectly for me and my little draw," Reed explained afterward. "And I just striped it down the middle and seemed to have the same distance all week around 88 to 85 yards. And with the wind kind of hurting a little bit, I decided to hit the 57 (degree wedge) a little softer, because I knew if I hit anything in there with a lot of spin, it will spin off the front.
"I heard the applause that it went in. I didn’t really see it, but I was able to see the highlights, I think it spiked pretty hard. Good thing it did because it would have been off the front. So luckily I made that there. My confidence level was really high."
So was Walker’s after he made the turn in 21 under and seemed on his way to his second win in the island chain in a year. He birdied the 10th to build a three-shot advantage and then slowly lost touch with his putter at the most crucial moments in the tournament.
"It was there for me to win," Walker said. "It was a bummer I didn’t close the door on it. I got to watch Patrick play the last couple of holes and had the chance on 18 to birdie and win it. Had a good look in the fairway and it just didn’t happen for me.
"I missed a couple of putts I should have made on 14 and 15; had a good look on 16. It had a lot of break on it, but it was a tough putt. I should have made one of those two on 14 and 15; just a couple of putts."
Reed missed more short putts this week than he cares to count, including the one at 17 that should have cost him the tournament. He said he played pretty mediocre the first three days, nothing to write home about. It’s safe to say he saved his best for last.
"It all started back on 13," Reed said. "I had a really good birdie look, left it short. On 14, I had a birdie look, short. Both of those were in the center of the cup, too. I mean those are the most frustrating."
As frustrated as Walker also felt, Matsuyama isn’t exactly turning cartwheels over his performance, either. He, too, had several opportunities to make a move, including missed birdie putts at 17 and 18 that will haunt the young Japanese sensation for a while.
Even Day lamented missing several short putts early in his 10-under round. Not until Reed’s birdie at the 18th was Day shut out. He hung around until the very end.
"I missed a couple of short ones, actually," Day said, "for birdies on the front. I’m still happy I shot 62 and at least gave myself a chance at maybe, hopefully getting into a playoff. I gave myself so many opportunities this week on the greens. And not to be able to capitalize on that was very frustrating."
TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
At Kapalua Resort, The Plantation Course, Kapalua, Hawaii
Purse: $5.7 million. Yardage: 7.452; Par 73
(x-won on first playoff hole)
x-Patrick Reed (500), $1,140,000 |
67-69-68-67 |
— |
271 |
Jimmy Walker (300), $665,000 |
67-68-67-69 |
— |
271 |
Jason Day (145), $332,667 |
70-69-71-62 |
— |
272 |
Russell Henley (145), $332,667 |
65-70-70-67 |
— |
272 |
Hideki Matsuyama (145), $332,667 |
70-66-66-70 |
— |
272 |
Sang-Moon Bae (100), $213,000 |
66-69-69-70 |
— |
274 |
Zach Johnson (90), $190,000 |
68-67-73-67 |
— |
275 |
Robert Streb (83), $175,000 |
67-69-71-69 |
— |
276 |
Brendon Todd (83), $175,000 |
69-67-69-71 |
— |
276 |
Bubba Watson (75), $160,000 |
70-69-68-70 |
— |
277 |
Seung-Yul Noh (65), $140,000 |
71-70-69-68 |
— |
278 |
Ben Martin (65), $140,000 |
67-72-70-69 |
— |
278 |
Matt Jones (65), $140,000 |
69-72-68-69 |
— |
278 |
Chris Kirk (56), $110,000 |
68-76-73-62 |
— |
279 |
Charley Hoffman (56), $110,000 |
70-66-73-70 |
— |
279 |
Scott Stallings (56), $110,000 |
67-70-70-72 |
— |
279 |
Brian Harman (53), $90,333 |
70-70-75-65 |
— |
280 |
Matt Kuchar (53), $90,333 |
68-70-74-68 |
— |
280 |
Hunter Mahan (53), $90,333 |
71-71-69-69 |
— |
280 |
Chesson Hadley (51), $80,000 |
70-73-68-70 |
— |
281 |
Ryan Moore (51), $80,000 |
71-70-69-71 |
— |
281 |
Steven Bowditch (48), $70,667 |
69-73-71-69 |
— |
282 |
Billy Horschel (48), $70,667 |
72-70-70-70 |
— |
282 |
Kevin Streelman (48), $70,667 |
69-73-67-73 |
— |
282 |
John Senden (46), $65,000 |
68-71-73-71 |
— |
283 |
Tim Clark (46), $65,000 |
70-75-67-71 |
— |
283 |
Geoff Ogilvy (44), $61,000 |
72-69-74-69 |
— |
284 |
Matt Every (44), $61,000 |
73-71-70-70 |
— |
284 |
Angel Cabrera (41), $58,000 |
71-73-72-70 |
— |
286 |
Ben Crane (41), $58,000 |
74-67-73-72 |
— |
286 |
Nick Taylor (41), $58,000 |
69-73-72-72 |
— |
286 |
Camilo Villegas (39), $56,000 |
71-70-71-75 |
— |
287 |
J.B. Holmes (38), $55,000 |
69-71-73-76 |
— |
289 |