Harris English was that player who always wanted the ball for the last shot. His trouble the past couple of years was getting off the bench and into the game.
English completed his turnaround from a seven-year drought with a victory he thought was long overdue, making a 6-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole against Joaquin Niemann to win the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua.
He ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine to catch Niemann. Needing a birdie on the 18th, English hit a 3-iron so pure from a downhill lie that it rolled out to 10 feet for an eagle putt he narrowly missed, and he settled for a 4-under 69 to force extra holes.
In the playoff, he lagged a long putt from off the front of the green to 6 feet for the winner.
“When I was a kid, I loved having the ball when the clock’s running out in basketball,” English said. “I love — I love — the situations, and I crave getting back into that. I hadn’t had it in a long time. … You’ve got to have confidence in yourself.
Niemann did his part with a 9-under 64, matching the low score of the tournament, impressive considering the blustery wind finally showed up on the Plantation Course for the final day.
But he missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th that cost him. And on the same hole in the playoff, with a 30-yard advantage off the tee, he tugged his shot just enough that it tumbled down the shaggy slope left of the 18th. A full swing with a lob wedge only got it up the hill to the fringe, and his birdie attempt from 15 feet was short.