For the second time in his PGA Tour career, Nico Echavarria is a winner. The 36- and 54-hole leader reached 20 under for the tournament and successfully fended off Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman for a one-stroke victory at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.
“It’s surreal,” Echavarria said. “This moment is very special. It’s been a good year for me, I just haven’t had that top result. I’ve been very consistent, I’ve learned a lot this year. To finish the year this way is, it’s incredible, especially doing it here in Japan in such an amazing country.”
Echavarria’s 20-under 260 total sets a new tournament 72-hole low score, which was previously held by Tiger Woods in 2019. It also represents the low 72-hole score in his PGA Tour career, besting his previous low at the 2023 Puerto Rico, where he also proved victorious. The Colombian improves to 2 for 2 with the 54-hole lead, and this one could not have come at a better time.
With the win, the 30-year-old secures his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for the next two seasons and locks up invitations into The Sentry, the Players Championship, the Masters and the PGA Championship. He also makes a massive leap in the FedEx Cup Fall, jumping from No. 113 to No. 65 just outside the Aon Next 10, which qualifies for the first two signature events of 2025.
“I’m very excited to go for the first time to Augusta, I’ve never been,” Echavarria said. “I was waiting to win myself that trip before going and we’ve done that, so we’re going to be very happy to play the Masters in a couple months.”
Beginning the day with a two-stroke lead, Echavarria saw his overnight margin vanish by the time he walked off the sixth green. Three birdies from the blade of Thomas put two names atop the leaderboard with Greyserman’s just one adrift courtesy of three birdies of his own in the early stretch.
Echavarria exchanged a birdie for a bogey on the next two holes and made it so all members of the final threesome were tied at 18 under with 10 holes to play. The overnight leader was the first to throw a punch on the inward half connecting on a right-to-left side bender from 12 feet on the par-3 13th.
Thomas burned edge after edge and was unable to make his move leaving the door open for Greyserman, who marched right through. With Echavarria once again squandering a birdie with a bogey on the next hole, Greyserman pounced with a 30-foot birdie on No. 14 to take the outright lead with four holes to play.
It proved to be Greyserman’s final circle on his scorecard. Echavarria drew even two holes later with another 12-foot birdie on a par 3. Tied heading to the final tee — and with Thomas just one adrift — it remained anyone’s tournament to win. Echavarria was the lone player to split the fairway as Greyserman and Thomas bailed right and were unable to give it a go with their second shots.
Echavarria could, and it was ultimately enough to squeak past his playing partners as he found the surface in two and two-putted for the winning birdie; Thomas settled for a birdie of his own and Greyserman made par to fall one stroke shy.
“It was very close all day, it was fun,” Echavarria said. “They got off to a hot start and it was very level during the last, I don’t know, 13 holes or 10 holes. Max played great. Justin has been playing incredible, he hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in. But overall it was special to finish birdie-par-birdie and take this home.” Grade: A+
Here are the grades for the rest of the notable names on the leaderboard at the 2024 Zozo Championship
T2. Justin Thomas (-19): The drought continues for Thomas, whose two-year winless streak was not snapped in Japan. It wasn’t for a lack of effort from tee to green as he looked as steady as ever in that category across 72 holes. The two-time major champion led the field in strokes gained tee to green while ranking sixth in strokes gained off the tee, second in strokes gained approach and third in strokes gained around the green. After treading water with his putter the first three rounds, Thomas sunk in the final round and lost nearly two strokes to the field on the greens.
“It’s a mixture of obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” Thomas said. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament. Hit so many good putts today that just didn’t go in, that’s the difference. I needed some of those ones that burned the edge to fall. But no, I mean, I gave myself a chance … I did a lot of the things really well. I made one bogey in 72 holes and had a great chance, just wasn’t my week.” Grade: A
4. Rickie Fowler (-17): After a season when he carded four straight rounds in the 60s just once, Fowler has now done it in all three of his starts in the FedEx Cup Fall. A closing 64 was enough to put him on the outskirts of contention, but a sluggish Saturday was ultimately too much to overcome. In his first top-10 finish of the year, the five-time winner leaned on his approach play and putting where he ranked second only to Echavarria. If that club continues to cooperate, it makes up for deficiencies elsewhere and makes Fowler a threat to win this upcoming year.
“It was a good solid day. I was obviously trying to get more,” Fowler said of his final-round 64. “Had some dinner with our friends and some of our friends in Narita last night and we set the goal at 9 [under], so I fell a little bit short. Still a good solid day. [I’m] excited about the way I’ve been able to play the few events that I’ve played this fall. Not necessarily having my best, but being a lot of positives. Nice to have a good finish, especially here in Japan in front of some fun fans.” Grade: A-
T13. Sungjae Im (-11): In his first start since the Presidents Cup, Im tripped out of the gates before recovering nicely. Back-to-back 70s in his opening rounds were followed up by a 62 on Moving Day and a 67 on Sunday to sneak his name inside the top 20. While he has raised trophies in Korea, Im is now winless on the PGA Tour over the last three years, with his last victory coming at the 2021 Shriners Children’s Open. He’s too talented for this to continue for much longer, but the lack of wins is somewhat worrying. Grades: B-
T27. Max Homa (-8): Homa considered himself “rusty” at the onset of the week, and his performance was indicative of just that. An opening 73 put him behind the eight ball and squandered an otherwise solid tournament with three straight rounds in the 60s to end. His tee-to-green game still needs some work: he ranked 55th in greens in regulation. The good news is his driving accuracy saw a slight uptick, which is the area where he struggled mightily this past season. Grade: C
T41. Xander Schauffele (-5): For the first time since the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, Schauffele’s name fell outside the top 20 in an individual tournament. The quadruple-bogey 8 in his opening round made the headlines, but it was ultimately his short game which let him down. Ranking top 10 in greens in regulation, the two-time major champion ranked 71st out of 77 players in strokes gained around the green where he lost nearly three strokes to the field. Grade: D
Read the full article here
