Si Woo Kim rallies with big finish to win Sony Open

Si Woo Kim battled all day from a three-shot deficit in the Sony Open, and when he finally caught up late Sunday afternoon, it only got harder.

His seven-iron to the par-three 17th bounded over the firm green and into a tough patch of grass in the rough. Behind, he could hear the cheering for Hayden Buckley making birdie on the 16th hole to regain the lead in Honolulu.

Suddenly, a tough chip got easier.

"Nothing to lose," Kim said.

With an aggressive stroke, Kim chipped in from 30 feet to tie Buckley, and then he won the Sony Open with a five-iron out of the bunker from 236 yards that bounced along the dry grass and onto the green, setting up a two-putt birdie from 40 feet and a six-under 64.

Buckley missed a 12-foot birdie on the par-five closing hole that would have forced a playoff.

The finish brought a sleepy Sony Open to life and gave the 27-year-old South Korean his fourth career PGA Tour victory, and first in two years.

SI WOO HIM