RICO HOEY of the Philippines struggled with a two-over 72 in the fourth round to finish with a share of 59th in the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday.
Mr. Hoey’s bid to make a final charge fizzled out as he stumbled with three bogeys in the first seven holes at Honolulu’s windy Waialae Country Club.
The Pinoy ace went on to fire birdies on No. 9 and 18 in between a fourth bogey on No. 15 to card a 37-35 round that sent him 30 places down in the final standings of the PGA Tour’s season opener.
Mr. Hoey, who was in contention and ran 11th after an eagle-powered 64 in the second round before fading in the finish, assembled a 275 total — 11 strokes off the 264s of eventual winner Nick Taylor of Canada and runner-up Nico Echavarria of Colombia.
The 29-year-old Fil-Am earned $19,314.
Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor drained a birdie on the second playoff hole to beat Mr. Echavarria for his fifth career PGA Tour title and bag the $1,566,000 top prize. Mr. Echavarria banked $948,300. — Olmin Leyba
