English ends long PGA Tour drought

Harris English was more than seven years removed from his most recent PGA Tour title as he stood 268 yards from the pin after a big drive on the par-5 18th hole in Sunday’s final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.

A birdie from there would force a playoff with Joaquin Niemann. An eagle would end his victory drought and be the highlight of a long climb out of golf ’s abyss.

English rifled a 3-iron to 10 feet. Then missed his putt. But his tap-in birdie forced a playoff with Niemann and 15 minutes later at the Plantation Course, English faced a 6-foot putt for birdie on the same hole to again end his drought. This time he buried it.

English, who lost his playing status on the PGA Tour after the 2018-19 season when he didn’t record a top-10 finish and fell to No. 369 in the world, is now thinking about making the Ryder Cup team and winning a major championship.

English, 31, who finished regulation at 25-underpar 267 with rounds of 65-67-66-69, was emotional after he secured his third PGA Tour title and continued a solid stretch of golf that was just missing an official victory (he did team with Matt Kuchar to win last month’s unofficial QBE Shootout).

“I built a great team around me back at Sea Island (Georgia),” he said. “They pushed me, helped me get to where I am right now. Nobody’s ever given up. It feels amazing. All the hard work that has gone into this, all the highs and lows of golf that it brings over a career, and I feel like I’ve gotten out of my valley and getting back to the tournaments and some of the quality of golf that I know I can play. ... I like where my golf game’s going. It’s been an awesome ride so far and it’s awesome to get some validation like today.”