Grayson Murray claimed his first PGA Tour title in almost six years after beating Keegan Bradley and Byeong Hun An in a playoff at the Sony Open.
A glance at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final round gave an indication of how tight the contest had been to that point, with Murray and Keegan Bradley leading the way and five players tied for fourth just three shots behind.
However, if it was difficult to call a winner at that stage, it tightened even further during the final round with the lead changing hands several times throughout the day.
JT Poston was one of the early pacesetters, helped by a run of five birdies and an eagle between the sixth and 12th holes, while another player firmly in contention was Carl Yuan. The Chinese player had been set for PGA Tour Q school after finishing one place beneath the cut off in the FedEx Cup standings, but earned his PGA Tour card after Jon Rahm moved to LIV Golf.
He took advantage of the unexpected opportunity, too, remaining firmly in the reckoning for a maiden PGA Tour win, helped by an eagle on the ninth. That was a feat matched by Russell Henley on the same hole not long after, which earned him a share of the lead, and before long, Poston joined them with his sixth birdie of the day before eventually heading to the clubhouse at 15-under after a stunning career-low round of 61.
By that time, Henley had moved into the outright lead on 16-under, but he was soon joined at the top of the leaderboard by Yuan after a confident 34-foot putt for birdie at the 14th.
Others also had their eye on the top of the leaderboard, including Byeong Hun An, who moved to within one of the lead after recovering from a wobbly start that included two bogeys in his first three holes.
Overnight leaders Bradley and Murray, meanwhile, were in the mix too, along with the likes Mathieu Pavon and Nick Taylor, as the top of the leaderboard remained as congested as ever with all those in contention by now on the back nine.
Henley’s excellent form continued with his third successive birdie on the 13th to move him one clear of Murray at the top, who was having a solid if less spectacular round of his own, with birdies at the ninth and 10th keeping him firmly in the hunt.
Just when it looked as though Henley may open up a bigger lead, he bogeyed the 16th, which saw Bradley, Murray, Yuan and An join him at the top, as a clear favourite still stubbornly refused to emerge.
Yuan was then granted free relief rather than a penalty stroke on the 18th, which proved controversial as his ball had appeared to sail out over the stand, but was deemed to have landed in it, even though it wasn’t found. In the end, he made par to head to the clubhouse tied for the lead at 16-under.
Soon, Bradley had the outright lead after he drained a putt from 21 feet for birdie at the 15th. Once again, though, it didn’t prove decisive, with An the next to share the lead after he birdied the 18th to leave him back at the clubhouse tied at the top with Bradley.
Could Bradley birdie the last to claim victory? Not quite. He placed his 23-foot putt to win it to the left and seconds later, Murray, who earlier in the week had opened up about 'multiple low points' in recent years, holed a birdie to move him into a three-way playoff with Bradley and An.
Back at 18, Murray sent the crowd into raptures with a stunning 38-foot putt for birdie, and Bradley, whose nerves had shown in a wayward approach to the green, which required free relief, couldn't match Murray's feat as he rolled his putt wide from 17 feet.
Next, it was An's turn to try and extend the playoff, this time from just five feet, but he also missed, leaving Murray to claim his first win on the PGA Tour since the 2017 Barbasol Championship.
39 FEET FOR THE WIN! Grayson Murray is victorious @SonyOpenHawaii in dramatic fashion! pic.twitter.com/C86sTS4O7aJanuary 15, 2024
Thanks to his win, Murray is now in all the PGA Tour's Signature events for the rest of 2024, and he admitted the future is looking bright. He said: "It's a lot for my career. I knew today was not going to change my life. My fiancée changed my life, Jesus Christ changed my life. Today wasn't going to change my life, but it did change my career a little bit, and I'm excited."
