Weekend: Taylor Pulls Of Sony Shocker, Heads To The Masters
GB&I wins Ryder Cup audition event, notes from weekend play and the latest on the Palisades fire with the Genesis a month away.
Wacky Waialae!
The way some places are just better for concerts or a ball game, Honolulu’s historic Seth Raynor classic serves up final drama like few other PGA Tour courses. In 2025 it was 36-year-old Nick Taylor and his balky putter recovering to hole a massive eagle chip at the last which, combined with late collapses by J.J. Spaun and Stephen Jaeger, put the Canadian in the winner’s circle for the fifth time.
Now 3-0 in playoffs, Taylor (-16) will head to the Masters for a third time. The former University of Washington golfer finished T29 in 2020 and missed the cut last year when participating thanks to his unforgettable Canadian Open win.
“To be able to hang in there—I was 1-over through 7—and get on a birdie streak there, it's always so bunched here but I did a really good job every day really of just hanging in there,” Taylor said. “Fortunately for me, really good things happened at the end.”
Really!
Runner-up Nico Echavarria continued his torrid run of recent golf. Dating to last October when the former Arkansas golfer captured the ZOZO Championship and a Masters invitation, he’s 92-under par in his last six starts.
54-hole leader J.J. Spaun finished T3 at 15-under after closing with 68 and was seeking a Masters spot, as was Jaeger, who also finished 15-under despite driving out-of-bounds at the 16th and electing to hit three-wood off the 18th tee.
With last week’s invitations to Joaquin Niemann and Nicolai Hojgaard, Taylor expands the Masters field to 88 players.
Also…
Hideki Matsuyama’s one-arm finish act took an unfortunate turn when he let his club go flying at the Sony Open. Matsuyama quickly checked on the gallery members struck and thankfully, uninjured. The PGA Tour’s demo-hunting Skratch account could not resist a CPM-friendly “hilarious” post celebrating the eventual birdie made:
Gray Albright of Florida State beat teammate Jack Bigham on the first hole of sudden death to win the Jones Cup on Sea Island. Their Seminole teammate, Luke Clanton, missed the Sony Open cut earlier in the week. Full Jones Cup scores here.
Eugenio Chacarra vented to Flushing It Golf after departing LIV Golf and accusing the circuit of unfulfilled promises. The former Oklahoma State star acknowledged his “life is set” after accepting money from the Public Investment Fund to leave school. Then proceeded to complain about failed promises. “When I joined LIV they promised OWGR and majors,” the 24-year-old said. “But it didn’t happen. I trusted them. I was the first young guy, then the others came after I made the decision. But OWGR and majors still hasn’t happened.” This Rosa Parks of young, Tour-defying golfers now must wait for a year since his last LIV event to be eligible for PGA Tour status (if he can get through Qualifying School).
GB&I Cruises In Ryder Cup Test Event
Great Britain & Ireland defeated Continental Europe 17-8 to win the 2025 Team Cup event at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort. The event served as an unofficial audition for Ryder Cup hopefuls while giving player Captains Justin Rose and Francesco Molinari the opportunity to demonstrate stoic stares and four-seater driving skills.
GB&I only needed two points in Sunday singles after opening a seven-point lead in Friday and Saturday action that featured one Four-ball and two Foursomes sessions. Continental Europe lost 2023 Ryder Cup member Nicolai Hojgaard to illness, with Julien Garrier subbing in for Sunday singles and winning his match over Rose.
As he’s prone to do, Tommy Fleetwood claimed the crucial winning point for his side by defeating Matthieu Pavon (3 & 1), just as the Ryder Cup hero managed at Marco Simone in 2023. Fleetwood enjoyed a perfect record winning all four of his matches over the three days.
“Loved the experience of it, and the lads have made me look incredibly good at it,” Rose said. “The way they played was first class.”
As for Ryder Cup preparations, Rose acknowledged that the Abu Dhabi atmosphere cannot capture the same intensity. But the idea of a sponsorless Team Cup event highlights yet another reason the Europeans are so strong in the biennial matches.
“As soon as you put a crest here and you have ten mates right behind you, you want to win,” said the winning captain. “Even practice rounds playing with our mates on tour, you never like to lose. So the intensity is there. The competitiveness is there. Just the environment is hard to simulate.”