Gallery: Tournament of Champions
We depict the tale of Patrick Reed's victory in the year's first PGA Tour event
A birdie by Patrick Reed at the first play-off hole wins the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Golf Club in Hawaii
The field for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions is restricted to golfers who won a tournament on the PGA Tour during the previous season. Not all winners compete - Rory McIlroy, who was in the UAE preparing for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, was one notable absentee.
The tournament was first run in 1953 and, until 2013 when the PGA moved to an October to September season, the Tournament of Champions was the first event of the PGA Tour season. Now it simply the first event of the calendar year. A quirk of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions is that is run from Friday to Monday, rather than the more customary Thursday to Sunday.
Sang-Moon Bae lead the way with an opening round of 66 which included five straight birdies on the front nine, however....
...the leader after the opening day of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions was Russell Henley who made four birdie putts outside 20ft on his way to an 8-under 65.
The best second round score was 65 by Hideki Matsuyama, but defending champion Zach Johnson hit every fairway and green to become the fourth player to do so in a round in a PGA Tour event in the past five years.
In the third round of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions Jimmy Walker made a birdie on the 18th to get to 5 under for the day and go level with Hideki Matsuyama at 17 under atop the end of the day three leaderboard. Hideki Matsuyama had posted the lowest third round, 66, to climb four places up the leaderboard. Zach Johnson came in with an even-par 73 and so ended the day in 10th having started it in the lead.
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On the final day Jason Day shot 62, as did Chris Kirk. But it was too little too late for both men. day finished tied in 3rd, Kirk in a tie for 14th.
On the final day Walker had looked the most likely to take the $1.14m cheque for first prize when he reached the turn in five-under for the round after the 10th, but he played the final eight holes in one over. In the play-off, he drove into a grandstand and had to take a drop.
In the final round Patrick Reed holed from 85 yards at the 16th for an eagle, and birdies at 15 and 18 offset a bogey at 17 gave him 67 for the round and a place in a play-off against Jimmy Walker. He won this on the first extra hole, with a birdie to Walker’s par.
Picture credits: Getty Images
Contributing Writer Golf courses and travel are Roderick’s particular interests and he was contributing editor for the first few years of the Golf Monthly Travel Supplement. He writes travel articles and general features for the magazine, travel supplement and website. He also compiles the magazine's crossword. He is a member of Trevose Golf & Country Club and has played golf in around two dozen countries. Cricket is his other main sporting love. He is the author of five books, four of which are still in print: The Novel Life of PG Wodehouse; The Don: Beyond Boundaries; Wally Hammond: Gentleman & Player and England’s Greatest Post-War All Rounder.
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