Tag: Nico Echavarria

Justin Lower goes low, Nico Echavarria looks to go back-to-back and more from 2024 World Wide Technology Championship

Catch up on the action here.

We’re 18 holes away from crowning a winner of the 2024 World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico, and the top of the leaderboard is as congested as Los Angeles traffic.

Justin Lower, Nico Echavarria and Carson Young are tied for the lead at 16 under, but there are three players tied for fourth at 15 under and two more at 14 under. A large group is primed to pounce if the leaders hit a few speed bumps during their rounds Sunday.

Echavarria, a 30-year-old from Colombia, won the Zozo Championship in Japan two weeks ago, his second PGA Tour win in as many seasons (2023 Puerto Rico Open). Now he’s just one round away from winning in back-to-back starts and a career-changing year.

Some of the names hoping to make a charge over the last dozen-and-a-half holes are Austin Eckroat (15 under), Max Greyserman (15 under) and Maverick McNealy (14 under).

If you missed any of the action Saturday, no worries we have you covered. Here are a few things to know from the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship.

WWTC: Leaderboard | Photo gallery

Echavarria’s in the zone

Nico Echavarria of Colombia walks from the fourth tee during the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship 2024 at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

It’s tough to travel across the world and play consistent golf, but don’t tell Echavarria that. Two weeks ago he was in Japan hoisting hardware at the Zozo. Now, he’s more than 6,300 miles away, once again in position to earn a trophy.

He started with a birdie at the par-5 first on Saturday and added one more before making the turn with a 2-under 34. On his way home, Echavarria birdied Nos. 10 and 12, and made six straight pars to close his day.

“There’s going to be nerves (on Sunday), it’s normal,” he told the media after signing his card. “I’ve been in this position luckily, I’ve gotten it done. It’s just a matter of being calm, controlling the nerves because there are going to be nerves. Hopefully there’s wind because I like playing in wind. I think I can manage the wind pretty well out here. So we’ll see. I won’t change my strategy, but maybe good golf will be enough.”

The last player to win back-to-back starts on Tour was Rory McIlroy earlier this year at the Zurich Classic and Truist Championship (formally known as the Wells Fargo).

Justin Lower looks for No. 1

Justin Lower plays his shot from the second tee during the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship 2024 at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Lower is a name you’re probably not used to seeing on the leaderboard as he’s still looking for his first Tour win. He’s been in the mix a decent amount this year with six top-25 finishes and three top-10s. But through three rounds south of the border, he’s in position to finally put a tally in the win column.

The 35-year-old opened the WWTC with a ho-hum 2-under 70, but has reached another level with his game posting rounds of 67-63 over the last two days. He hit every fairway in regulation and missed just one green on Saturday, paving the way for his bogey-free 9-under gem.

“Everything,” Lower said when asked what a win would mean to him. “I don’t know. Yeah, I mean, there’s 18 holes tomorrow on a very scoreable golf course. I think the wind’s going to stay down again, so I have to go out and basically shoot probably somewhere between 5 and 9 under again. I mean, it’s just the way the scores are out here. If the wind’s down, scores are going to be low.

“Yeah, a win would mean everything. I still have a job to do.”

Is it Mav’s time?

Maverick McNealy plays his shot from the sixth tee during the third round of the World Wide Technology Championship 2024 at El Cardonal at Diamante in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Maverick McNealy has the game to be a four-, five-time winner on Tour, he’s just gotta get his first. McNealy, who withdrew from the Zozo Championship before the second round due to illness in his last start, has flirted with victory several times this year, including a T-3 finish at the 3M Open. However, he’s yet to get it over the finish line.

He’ll have a chance on Sunday thanks to rounds of 66-67 after opening the tournament with a 3-under 69 on Thursday.

The 28-year-old made the turn with a 1-under 35 on Day 3, and went on to add three birdies and a bogey on the back before finishing his third round with an eagle on the par-5 closer.

He’ll enter the final round two shots back of the lead.

Checking in with some familiar names

Daniel Berger of the United States plays a second shot on the 15th hole during the second round of the World Wide Technology Championship 2024 at El Cardonal at Diamante on November 08, 2024 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
  • Daniel Berger, 12 under (T-9)
  • Wesley Bryan, 12 under (T-9)
  • Joel Dahmen, 11 under (T-14)
  • Matt Kuchar, 11 under (T-14)
  • Harris English, 9 under (T-30)
  • Harry Higgs, 7 under (T-38)

Top 10 and odds to win

Position Player Score Odds to win
T-1 Justin Lower 16 under (+500)
T-1 Nico Echavarria 16 under (+450)
T-1 Carson Young 16 under (+550)
T-4 Joe Highsmith 15 under (+850)
T-4 Austin Eckroat 15 under (+700)
T-4 Max Greyserman 15 under (+450)
T-7 Ben Griffin 14 under (+1200)
T-7 Maverick McNealy 14 under (+1100)
T-9 David Lipsky 12 under (+15000)
T-9 Daniel Berger 12 under (+7500)
T-9 Wesley Bryan 12 under (+11000)
T-9 Ryan McCormick 12 under (+17000)
T-9 Tom Hoge 12 under (+6500)

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Winner’s Bag: Nico Echavarria, 2024 Zozo Championship

A complete list of the golf equipment Nico Echavarria used to win the PGA Tour’s 2024 Zozo Championship.

A complete list of the golf equipment Nico Echavarria used to win the PGA Tour’s 2024 Zozo Championship:

DRIVER: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees), with Mitsubishi Diamana BB 73 TX shaft

FAIRWAY WOODS: PXG 0311 Black Ops (15 degrees), with Project X HZRDUS Red RDX 70 TX shaft, PXG 0311 XF GEN5 (19 degrees). with Project X HZRDUS Smoke Green 80 TX shaft

IRONS: Srixon ZX5 Mk II (4, 5), Srixon ZX7 Mk II (6), PXG 0317 CB (6-PW), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 shafts

WEDGES: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy III (50 degrees), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 125 shaft, (54, 60 degrees), with True Temper Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S400 shafts

PUTTER: Odyssey Tri-Hot 5K #7

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet (full swing) / SuperStroke Zenergy Pistol Tour (putter)

Nico Echavarria birdies the last and stares down Justin Thomas to win the 2024 Zozo Championship

“This is my second victory, so I just need 80 more victories to catch (Tiger). I’m on my way, though.”

Shortly after upsetting one of the best players in the world to win the Zozo Championship, Colombia’s Nico Echavarria phoned his mother at home and tried to fight back tears but it was a losing proposition.

“My parents are at home in Medellin and it’s pretty late there. They stayed up all night watching the golf and I’m glad they did,” Echavarria said. “Yeah, very happy and emotional just being able to talk to them because my parents are the reason I play this beautiful sport.”

And he played it beautifully on Sunday in Inzai City in the Japanese prefecture of Chiba, 25 miles northeast of Tokyo, making birdies at two of the final three holes to shoot 3-under 67 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club to secure his second PGA Tour title.

When he won for the first time last year at the Puerto Rico Open, Echavarria said the victory proved to himself that he was better than he even thought. Asked what this second win means, he smiled and said, “Proving it a little more now.”

He added: “I don’t think I would’ve gotten this win without the victory in Puerto Rico. I took a lot from that and kept myself calm,” he said.

With just one top 10 this season and three missed cuts in his last four starts, Echavarria was a surprise contender, racing into the lead with a pair of 64s and a 65 to set the 54-hole tournament scoring mark and grab a two-stroke lead.

Nico Echavarria of Colombia kisses his girlfriend, Claudia, after winning the tournament on the 18th green during the final round of the Zozo Championship 2024 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 27, 2024 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

Tied for the lead at the 72nd hole, Echavarria reached the par-5 18th in two, leaving himself a 40-foot eagle putt. He lagged to 3 feet and converted the clinching stroke for a 72-hole total of 20-under 260, to edge former world No. 1 Justin Thomas and rookie Max Greyserman by one shot.

Echavarria, 30, started the final round with birdies at Nos. 2 and 7 before a bogey at No. 8 dropped him back into a tie. He reclaimed sole possession of the lead at No. 13, planting his tee shot to 13 feet and canning the downhill, right-to-left breaking birdie putt. He pumped his right fist, one of two times he’d do so on the back nine as his putting prowess shined.

“New grip this week, that was the difference,” explained Echavarria, who swapped out the grip on Tuesday. “Just needed one week for the putter to get hot and this week was it.”

One hole later, however, his lead was gone thanks to a two-shot swing when he made a sloppy bogey at the par 5 and Greyserman canned a 29-foot birdie putt. That proved to be Greyserman’s final birdie. Echavarria wasn’t done yet and answered with another 13-foot birdie, this time at the par-3 16th and clenched his fist. Echavarria and Geyserman, who had been partners this season at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and finished T-4, remained tied until the 72nd hole.

Greyserman missed the fairway at 18 and had to lay up and his 25-foot birdie putt burned the right edge. He closed in 65 and unlike at the Wyndham Championship where he blew a four-stroke lead with five holes to go, he had no reason to hang his head after earning his third runner-up finish in his last five starts. He topped the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, and made over 100 feet of putts in each round.

“It wasn’t like Wyndham where I gave it away, I felt good out there the whole time. I mean, super comfortable. It was like I was playing at home,” Greyserman said. “Didn’t quite execute down the stretch when I needed to. I mean, Nico stepped up there and he hit a great second shot. He earned it.”

Thomas, who was seeking his first victory in 29 months, closed with a bogey-free 66 but after sinking three birdies in his first six holes, his putter went cold. Before the tournament began, he switched back to a trusty mallet that he’d used in many of his 15 previous Tour titles but it let him down when it mattered most in the final round. He burned edges and lipped out putts, making 11 consecutive pars before a birdie at the last. He ranked 66th in SG: Putting in the 78-man field on Sunday and lost strokes with the short stick for the week.

“It’s a mixture of obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” said Thomas, who made just one bogey all week and led the field in multiple statistical categories, including scrambling. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament.”

Rickie Fowler shot a bogey-free 6-under 64 and finished fourth. It marked his first top-10 finish in 23 starts this season and best result dating to his last win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last July.

Echavarria, who had missed the cut in three of the four previous FedEx Cup Fall events and hadn’t recorded a top-10 finish in a stroke-play tournament all season, sensed his game was close, results be damned. Victory, which includes a spot in his first Masters, made the hard times worth it.

“Moments like this are the ones that make everything better,” he said.

When told that his 72-hole total broke the previous mark set by Tiger Woods in 2019, Echavarria marveled that he had won the same tournament as Tiger.

“This is my second victory, so I just need 80 more victories to catch him,” he said. “I’m on my way, though.”

Nico Echavarria regains two-shot lead with closing eagle, Justin Thomas keeps pace and more from 2024 Zozo Championship

Catch up on the action here.

When they stood on the final tee box on Saturday, Nico Echavarria and Justin Thomas were knotted up at 15 under. However, when the final round of the 2024 Zozo Championship gets underway on Sunday — Saturday night in the United States thanks to the significant time difference — Echavarria will have a two-shot advantage.

The 30-year-old Columbian found the fairway on the par-5 closer and stuck his 241-yard second shot to two feet for a tap-in eagle. Thomas, on the other hand, missed a four-foot birdie putt that would have pulled him within a shot with 18 holes to play.

Although Echavarria has just one PGA Tour win compared to Thomas’ 15, his came more recently than the two-time major champion’s latest. The University of Arkansas product won the Puerto Rico Open last year while the world No. 32 hasn’t hoisted hardware since the ’22 PGA Championship.

“At the end of the day it has been a while, but I’ve still won a pretty good amount of golf tournaments,” Thomas said after signing his card. “I know how to win. It’s just a matter of executing and doing it and that’s really been the biggest difference.”

The winner in Japan will earn $1.53 million of the $8.5 million purse, 500 FedEx Cup points and a two-year exemption on Tour.

Here’s what you need to know from Day 3 at the Zozo Championship.

Zozo: Photos | Leaderboard

Third-round takeaways from the Zozo Championship

Can Echavarria hold off one of the best in the game?

Nico Echavarria of Colombia smiles on the 18th green during the third round of the Zozo Championship 2024 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 26, 2024 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Echavarria’s lone Tour win came at the Puerto Rico Open, an opposite field event to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So holding off Thomas, one of the biggest names in the sport, will be a challenge he has yet to face. Only time will tell how he responds.

“Yeah, absolutely,” he replied when asked if his experience in Puerto Rico will help on Sunday. “Obviously this is a better field than the one in Puerto Rico, there’s better players out here, but a win is a win. I’m going to rely on that and keep doing what I’m doing, trying to have fun and see where we go.”

As for his round on Saturday, Echavarria was 1 over through four but quickly turned it around with four birdies over the last five holes of his front nine to make the turn with a 3-under 31. On the way home, he made a bogey and a birdie before his closing eagle to finish out his 5-under effort.

Over the final 18 holes, Echavarria is looking to keep it simple.

“Just stay in the moment. It’s a cliche, but it’s really important. You don’t want to go ahead with yourself, especially there’s a lot of hard holes out here. You just have to hit shot by shot and try to be in the fairway, try to hit the green and see if the putt goes in.”

Thomas hopes to break drought

Justin Thomas of the United States hits his tee shot on the 14th hole during the third round of the Zozo Championship 2024 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 26, 2024 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

It’s not often we see one of the best players in the game go years without winning, but Thomas has struggled for most of the last two seasons. In fact, he’s won just twice since a three-win 2019-20 season: ’21 Players and ’22 PGA.

But he’ll have a chance to get back in the winner’s circle on Sunday thanks to a third-round bogey-free 5-under 65.

Unlike Echavarria, Thomas got off to a hot start with birdies on Nos. 1 and 2. After seven straight pars to close his opening nine holes, Thomas grabbed three more birdies on Nos. 10, 11 and 14.

His round might have ended in disappointing fashion, but he’s still well within striking distance with 18 holes to play.

“I would have obviously loved a couple more there coming in, but I played really, really solid, played really well,” he said. “You know, I just kind of feel like I did what I needed to do and got it around the course well. It’s nice to post a good score with it.”

What’s his key to victory?

“Honestly, although I’m behind, it’s still patience. Anything can happen out here. You have a lot of birdie holes that you can make bogey in a heartbeat if you get out of position or get in the wrong spot around the greens. I know that with greens this soft, any hole is birdiable. I think just because if I happen to be even through five, six, seven holes, that doesn’t mean I’m out of it, I just have to keep my head down and really just treat each hole for what it is and really try to make as many birdies as I can.”

Fowler ends his round with a bang

Rickie Fowler of the United States acknowledges the gallery after holing out with the birdie on the 18th green during the third round of the Zozo Championship 2024 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on October 26, 2024 in Inzai, Chiba, Japan. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)

Fowler returned to the Tour earlier this month after an extended time away following the birth of his second child, but his game hasn’t shown many signs of rust.

In his first start since the Open, Fowler tied for 16th at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Two weeks later, the fan-favorite finished T-23 at the Shriners Children’s Open. And through 54 holes of the Zozo, Fowler is 11 under and in a tie for fourth.

On Saturday, Fowler made four birdies and two bogeys before closing his round in dramatic fashion with a 44-foot birdie putt after hitting his approach shot from the wrong fairway.

“I’m excited because I feel like I really haven’t had my best between Sanderson, Vegas and here the first three days,” he said. “I know I have a lot more in the tank and what I can do. Hopefully just clean a few things up. There’s been a lot of good signs, but over the past few events I just haven’t really put it all together. So I’m looking forward to getting out there and hopefully we can get a good one going.”

Fowler, who will start the final round six back of Echavarria, last won over a year ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Top 10 and odds to win

Position Player Score Odds to win
1st Nico Echavarria 17 under (+130)
2nd Justin Thomas 15 under (+140)
3rd Max Greyserman 14 under (+450)
T-4 Nate Lashley 11 under (+7500)
T-4 Kevin Yu 11 under (+5000)
T-4 Rickie Fowler 11 under (+4500)
7th Kurt Kitayama 10 under (+6000)
T-8 Jhonattan Vegas 9 under (+25000)
T-8 Andrew Novak 9 under (+25000)
T-8 Eric Cole 9 under (+25000)
T-8 C.T. Pan 9 under (+30000)

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Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

Candidates for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 2022-23 season

Let’s take a look at some of the top candidates for the Arnold Palmer Award.

There were 28 rookies on the PGA Tour for the 2022-23 season, the same number that there were a year ago. It’s also the most since the Tour had 35 newbies for the 2011 season.

Two rookies won a Tour event this season: Nico Echavarria at the Puerto Rico Open and Vincent Norrman at the Barbasol Championship.

Of those 28, none made the 30-man field at the Tour Championship, the first time rookies were shut out of East Lake Golf Club since the 2020-21 season. Notably, there have never been more than two rookies in the season finale in the 17-year history of the FedEx Cup.

While plenty of these first-year players made some noise along the way this season, there can only be one Rookie of the Year. Players are still vying for the honor, as the FedEx Cup Fall series events count towards consideration.

There are three events left: the World Wide Technology Championship in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Bermuda and the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Ballots for Rookie of the Year will be sent out after the RSM.

For now, let’s take a look at some of the top candidates for the Arnold Palmer Award with their FedEx Cup ranking in parentheses.

Nico Echavarria wins maiden PGA Tour title at 2023 Puerto Rico Open, earns spot in Players Championship

Echavarria is the 10th player to make the Puerto Rico Open his first career PGA Tour title.

Nico Echavarria is a winner on the PGA Tour.

Riding a final-round 68 at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, Echavarria finished at 21 under and outlasted Akshay Bhatia by two shots in the 2023 Puerto Rico Open, the first opposite-field event on the PGA Tour’s 2023 calendar.

Echavarria scored in the 60s (67-67-65-68) all four rounds. He had 22 birdies, two eagles and six bogeys over the 72 holes.

A rookie on the PGA Tour, Echavarria said he found something in his swing on the range on Friday and it clearly carried over to the weekend, as he becomes the 10th player to make the Puerto Rico Open his first career PGA Tour title.

“With the way I was playing the last couple weeks, at Honda, that course is really hard but I missed the cut by 8 or 9. At Pebble I missed it by a lot,” he said. “You just don’t think it’s going to get better until things like this week clicks and finding something on the range on Friday just changes your week. … if I wouldn’t have had that practice session on Friday afternoon very late and found what I found, I don’t think I would be here because it cleared my mind up. I was thinking too many things. I was on a bad spot mentally before coming to this week.”

Bhatia, meanwhile, started the day in fifth and ended up in solo second. It’s his best finish on Tour; he had a tie for ninth at the 2020 Safeway Open. He also has two top-10s in four starts on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023.

Bhatia had eight birdies in his final round, including four straight on Nos. 15, 16, 17 and 18 to close his week. He came up short but was energized and emotional after his performance this week.

“I’m legally able to drink now, so maybe I’ll have a drink with my parents,” Bhatia said. “I’m excited to see my dogs, I haven’t seen them in two weeks. Yeah, I don’t know. It’s going to be a lot of emotion. I know my dad’s going to really cry, which I’ve only seen him do one time.”

For winning the Puerto Rico Open, Echavarria earned 300 FedEx Cup points and $684,000. He joins Kurt Kitayama, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday, as first time Tour winners. He also earned a spot in the Players Championship, which starts Thursday at TPC Sawgrass.

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“It’s going to be incredible to be at home because I live in Jacksonville,” he said. “Especially after a win, it’s going to be special. Probably going to keep playing and feeling what I’m feeling right now with my game, same thoughts, because this game changes quick and you’ve got to be consistent with what you’re trying to do.”

Nate Lashley and Carson Young tied for third at 16 under, five shots back. Michael Kim was solo fifth at 15 under.

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This PGA Tour rookie, who has made three cuts in 11 starts, leads the 2023 Puerto Rico Open heading to the final round

Nico Echavarria has made only two cuts in 10 starts heading into the Puerto Rico Open.

PGA Tour rookie Nico Echavarria has played 11 events this season. He has made the cut three times, including this week.

Come Sunday, he could hoist a trophy.

Echavarria used a 6-under 30 front nine at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, to take a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the Puerto Rico Open, the alternate-field event to the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Echavarria shot 7-under 65 on moving day to hop Carson Young, the 18- and 36-hole leader, and sits at 17 under with one round to go.

“Yeah, it was a dream start,” Echavarria said. “I found something on the range yesterday, and even if I felt nervous out there today on some holes, I just kept putting my game plan and my feeling of what I found on the range and it worked really good. Happy with how I played, happy with the shots I hit when I was under pressure. Hopefully we can do it tomorrow.”

Young, a fellow Tour rookie, posted a 1-under 71 on moving day for his worst round of the week by four shots. But he’ll be in the final pairing also looking for his first PGA Tour victory.

Sam Stevens matched Echavarria’s 7-under performance and sits in a two-way tie for third at 13 under. Nate Lashley, who shot 5 under on Saturday, is also at 13 under. Akshay Bhatia and Harry Hall are tied for fifth at 12 under.

Echavarria’s round got off to a quick start, as he eagled the par-5 second. Birdies followed on Nos. 4-7, and he added two more birdies and a bogey on the back nine.

The winner of the Puerto Rico Open will capture 300 FedEx Cup points and $684,000.

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