Who Is Zozo Championship Winner Nico Echavarria And What Did He Win
Nico Echavarria claimed the Zozo Championship title for his second PGA Tour victory, shooting a three-under 67 to win by a shot over Max Greyserman and Justin Thomas at the Narashino Country Club in Inzai.
In doing so Echavarria earned $1.5 million as well as 500 FedEx Cup points. The total prize fund was $8.5m.
The Colombian birdied two of the final three holes, including the 18th, to add to the title he won last year at the Puerto Rico Open and said his victory in 2022 gave him confidence. Thomas, who played in the final threesome with fellow American Greyserman and Echavarria, closed with a 66 as he attempted to win his first PGA Tour title in over two years.
"I took a lot from that and just kept myself calm," Echavarria said. “It was fun out there. It's been a lot of work, it's been a lot of rough weeks but moments like this are the ones that make everything better. It's the second win on the PGA Tour, not a lot of people get to win two times on the PGA Tour.”
Thomas said he was gutted not to win and believes he played well enough to win the tournament. "Obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well," he said. "I played plenty well enough to win the tournament. Hit so many good putts that just didn't go in, that's the difference."
Greyserman, looking for his first Tour win, took a one-shot lead with a 30-foot birdie on the 14th - his only birdie on the back nine. He closed with a 65 and has now been runner-up in three of his past five PGA Tour events.
"I didn't quite execute down the stretch when I needed to," Greyserman said. "I mean, Nico stepped up there and he hit a great second shot [on 18]. He earned it."
Zozo Championship Tournament Highlights
Who Is Nico Echavarría
Nico Echavarría was born in Medellin on August 4, 1994.
He attended the University of Arkansas from 2013 to 2017 and represented Colombia in the Eisenhower Trophy in 2016.
He turned professional in 2017 and won twice during the 2018 PGA Tour Latinoamerica season, finishing second in the Order of Merit and gaining a card for the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour.
He gained his PGA Tour card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals and in March 2023, in his rookie season, he won the Puerto Rico Open. He shot a total of 21-under-par to win by two shots ahead of Akshay Bhatia.
This was his 58th PGA Tour start, making 23 cuts, with two top-five finishes and two top 10s.
He averages 296.7 yards from the tee, finds 64.04% of fairways and hits 68.83% of greens in regulation. He gets up and down from the sand 57.39% of the time, averages 29.21 putts per round, averages 4.03 birdies per round and has a scoring average of 70.04.
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