Colombian Nico Echavarria shot a 3-under 67 to best Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman by a stroke at the ZOZO Championship in Japan on Sunday.
He finished at 20-under-par and capped off a stellar week in the Far East with two birdies over his last three holes. He also set a new ZOZO Championship scoring record with an overall score of 260, besting the record Tiger Woods set with his victory in Japan in 2019—his most recent PGA Tour title.
“It’s incredible to win a tournament that Tiger’s won,” Echavarria said.
“This is my second victory, so I just need 80 more victories to catch him. I’m on my way, though.”
Echavarria’s win is a career-changing moment. His only other PGA Tour title came at the 2023 Puerto Rico, an alternate event that does not award perks like this week’s ZOZO Championship. With the win, Echavarria books a trip to Augusta National next April and the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow next May. He will also begin his season at The Sentry in Maui and tee it up at TPC Sawgrass for The Players in March. In addition, Echavarria secures status on the PGA Tour for two more years.
But nothing excites him more than going to The Masters for the first time.
“I’m very excited to go to Augusta for the first time. 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 of months.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
