Having weathered a blustery 18 holes at Waialae Country Club, Brent Grant needed a 19th to earn a return invitation in January.
Playing in the first group of the day, Grant plowed through the wind and rain to post a 1-over-par 73 in Monday’s Sony Open in Hawaii amateur qualifier. Two groups later, Moanalua senior Jun Ho Won rolled in a birdie putt on the 18th green to match Grant’s score and force a playoff.
Grant’s par on the first playoff hole was enough to close his 2016 schedule with his sixth win of the year, and he’ll start 2017 on Jan. 12 with a tee time in the first round of the Sony Open.
“I think I just have to go out there and respect the realm, respect the guys out there and respect how hard it is to go out there and make the cut,” Grant said, “and after that take it one shot at a time and hope for the best.”
The PGA Tour annually reserves a spot in the Sony Open field for a local amateur. The 12 players who qualify for the Hawaii State Golf Association’s Governor’s Cup team also earn a berth in the 18-hole Sony Open qualifier.
Grant made the turn at even par with three birdies, three bogeys and three pars. He went into the par-5 18th at even and hit his tee shot out of bounds. He recovered to save bogey with a 15-foot putt to finish at 1 over, then had to wait for the remaining three groups to finish.
“I was happy I got in the first group because you get moved in and done, but waiting that long was just nerve-wracking,” Grant said.
Won was 1 under through 14 but bogeyed the 15th through 17th holes. He closed with a 7-foot downhill putt on No. 18 to get to 73.
At the moment, he didn’t think the last putt held quite that much significance.
“I saved myself with my putter,” said Won, who signed with Boise State earlier this month. “But I had three bad holes and thought I’d probably need an eagle on the last hole.”
Birdie was enough, and as the last group’s scores were posted, Grant and Won, former Moanalua teammates, were already warming up for the playoff.
Grant pulled his first shot into the rough down the left side, while Won threatened the boundary on the right. After Won drilled a low shot that ran into a green-side bunker, Grant, among the trees about 130 yards out, landed a 9-iron pin high about 15 feet from the hole.
“I had pitching wedge originally and thought I was just going to take it over the palm tree,” Grant said. “But my dad noticed a line left of the flag and the wind was going left to right as well, so I could try to bend it around. It’s a shot I’ve hit so many times. Just a nice little smooth cut shot.”
Won’s shot out of the bunker sailed long and his chip back rolled past the pin. Grant’s birdie putt lipped out, but his tap-in capped a spectacular 2016 schedule.
Grant won two tournaments for BYU-Hawaii in the spring and captured the Manoa Cup title in June, which comes with a spot on the Governor’s Cup team. He also won a U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier at Turtle Bay in July and returned to win the Turtle Bay Open last month.
“This is my third (qualifier),” Grant said. “This is the best my game has ever felt. I think my mental game is a lot stronger than it has been in the past.
“But it’s 18 holes. It’s a lot of golf. At the same time it goes by fast. It was just hit the shot and stay dry. … I stayed patient and it worked out.”
