Echavarria Wins in Japan, Yin Prevails in Malaysia | The Sunday Swing

Welcome back to another edition of the Sunday Swing presented by 2nd Swing Golf. This week in the professional golf world, both tours continued their trips abroad with the PGA Tour in Japan for the Zozo Championship and the LPGA was in Malaysia for the Maybank Championship. 

Zozo Championship - Tournament History

The Zozo Championship has become a fun tradition on the PGA Tour’s fall schedule. Even though the tournament is only six years old, its opening edition was won by Tiger Woods in 2019, giving the tournament an elevated feeling from its conception. The victory was Tiger’s 82nd on Tour, tying Sam Snead’s record for most all time. Since then, the tournament has had several other big time winners, including Patrick Cantlay, Hideki Matsuyama, Keegan Bradley, and Collin Morikawa. Outside of the fact that it’s hosted in Japan, one thing that makes the Zozo unique is that it is a no-cut event featuring a smaller, 78-man field. This year's field was strong as it usually is, featuring a sizable list of top players. Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Min Woo Lee, and Will Zalatoris are just a handful of the many stars that were in this week's field. 

Hosted at Narashino Country Club, the par-70 is very unique in that every hole has two green complexes. The reasoning for this is based on the climate, with each surface being a different type of grass(bermuda and zoysia) – one for summer, one for winter. In 2019, Tiger Woods set the scoring record at Narashino CC at 19-under par. 

The Big Swing

This week, the Big Swing belongs to 30-year old Colombian Nico Echavarria. Even with all the firepower in this week's field, Echavarria was able to edge out the competition and pick up just his second victory on the PGA Tour. Nico set the tone out of the gates with back-to-back rounds of 64 on Thursday and Friday to jump out to a fast lead. Justin Thomas was positioned inside the top-10 after opening with rounds of 66 and 64. Fowler, Max Greyserman, Taylor Moore, Eric Cole and Kurt Kitayama were amongst the other contenders heading into the weekend. 

On Saturday, Thomas and Echavarria matched each other with a couple of 65s while Kitayama shot 63, Greyserman 64, and Fowler 65, setting the stage for a high-octane final round. As the final round began for the leaders, Echavarria began the day two shots clear of his closest pursuer, Thomas. 

By the time the pair had reached the back nine, Thomas had caught Echavarria thanks to a 3-under front nine. Echavarria had only managed to shoot 1-under on the front, opening the door for the chasers. Greyserman and Fowler had also inched closer to the lead, as the two of them shot four-under and three-under front nines respectively. 

On the back nine, everyone had seemingly stalled out. Thomas had made par on holes 10-17, while Echavarria was even on the back nine through 15. Nico would pick up his first birdie on the back at the 16th, giving him a one shot cushion with just a couple to play. Greyserman had posted 19-under in the clubhouse ahead of the final pairing, which had tied Echavarria as the Colombian stood on the 18th tee. Needing a birdie to win, Echavarria was able to reach the par-5 finishing hole in two, which led to a routine two-putt birdie. Thomas also made birdie at the final hole, but he came up a shot short alongside Greyserman. Fowler finished 4th and Kitayama rounded out the top five. The victory for Echavarria was just his second on Tour and first since the 2023 Puerto Rico Open. 

Winner's Bag: Nico Echavarria

Nico Echavarria picked up his 2nd PGA Tour title on Sunday in Japan at the Zozo Championship. Echavarria is a PXG staffer, but his bag features a variety of equipment manufacturers. Off the tee, Nico plays the PING G430 Max driver (10.5 degrees). He carries two fairway woods: a PXG Black Ops 3-wood (15 degrees) and a PXG 0311 XF Gen 5 5-wood (19 degrees). His iron setup is very unique, featuring a Srixon ZX5 MK II 4- and 5-iron, a Srixon ZX7 MK II 6-iron, and PXG 0317 CB irons through the rest of the set (7-PW). Around the greens, Echavarria plays a trio of PXG Sugar Daddy 3 wedges (50, 54, 60 degrees). On the greens, he rolls an Odyssey Tri-Hot 5k Seven. 

LPGA Tour - Maybank Championship

This week, the LPGA Tour was in Malaysia for the Maybank Championship. Allisen Corpuz, Charley Hull, Celine Boutier, Brooke Henderson, Leonna Maguire, and Jennifer Kupcho were amongst the ladies teeing it up this week. 

Also in the field was 2023 Women’s PGA Champion Ruoning Yin, and she started out with back to back 67s on Thursday and Friday to position herself firmly in contention. Haeran Ryu continued her strong play and opened with a 64 and a 69. Jeeno (Atthaya) Thitikul was also playing well, shooting rounds of 67 and 69 to start her tournament. On Saturday, it was Thitikul and Yin who began to separate themselves from the field. Thitikul carded a 64, while Yin carded 66. Haeran Ryu was doing her best to keep up, and a Saturday 67 at least kept her in the conversation. 

On Sunday, it became a shootout between Yin and Thitikul. Yin had the advantage early, shooting 4-under on the front nine while Thitikul only shot a couple under. On the back nine, Thitikul made her move. After making birdies at 10, 12, and 14, she was now just one back. Both players would par 15-17, before reaching the par-5 18th. Yin held one-shot lead, knowing birdie would most likely clinch the tournament. Meanwhile, Thitikul needed to make a birdie and hope Yin could only muster a par.