In 2014, Colombian Nico Echavarria made his first trip to Japan to play that year’s World Amateur Team Championship in Karuizawa. He was exposed to some serious talent —a U.S. team featuring Bryson DeChambeau, Beau Hossler and Denny McCarthy won the Eisenhower Trophy while Jon Rahm shot the lowest individual score. Colombia finished 21st among 67 countries.

Echavarria, now 30, may have been more of a later bloomer than the likes of dual major winners Rahm and DeChambeau, but thanks to a clutch, one-shot victory over Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman at the Zozo Championship in Chiba, he’s now a two-time PGA Tour winner.

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Unlike his breakthrough PGA Tour victory at the 2023 Puerto Rico Open, an opposite-field event, this victory gets him into the Masters for the first time in his career.

“I’m very excited to go for the first time to Augusta, I’ve never been,” Echavarria said at the Accordia Narashino course. “I was waiting to win myself that trip before going, and we’ve done that. I’m very happy to play the Masters in a couple months.”

Echavarria has played in a PGA Championship and two U.S. Opens but never at Augusta National. He’s headed to the April major courtesy of a clutch, three-under-par 67 on the final day at the Zozo to finish at 20 under (260). Greyserman burned the edge of a putt on the 72nd hole that would have forced a playoff while Thomas missed four birdie putts inside 12 feet on the back nine. They shared second at 19 under (261).

“It was very close all day, it was fun,” Echavarria said. “[Greyserman and Thomas] got off to hot starts and it was very level during the last 13 holes. Max played great and Justin hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in.”

Thomas, who played in the final threesome with Greyserman and Echavarria, closed with a 66 but fell short in his bid to win a first PGA Tour title in 29 months —a drought stretching back to the 2022 PGA Championship.

“A mixture of obviously, bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” said Thomas, whose wife, Jillian, is due to deliver their first child, a girl, late next month. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament. There are a lot of positives. I’m still going the right direction and I’ve just got to keep trying to put myself in contention.”

Searching for his maiden tour win, Greyserman drained a 30-foot birdie on the No.14 to take the lead and even a 65 wasn’t enough. He has finished runner-up in three of his last five PGA Tour starts. Rickie Fowler was solo fourth, his first top-10 finish in 29 starts since winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic last year.

But it was Echavarria who stepped up in the final trio of holes. At the 196-yard, par-3 16th, he stuck his tee shot to 12 feet and drained the birdie. At the par-5 18th, Echavarria rifled his 273-yard second shot to 39 feet and two-putted for a decisive birdie.

“It was very special to finish birdie-par-birdie and take this home,” he said afterward. Moments after tapping in for the win, Echavarria called his parents back in Medellin, Colombia and burst into tears.

“I’m a very emotional person,” Echavarria, who represented Colombia at the Olympics in Paris this summer, said. “My parents stayed up all night watching the golf and I’m glad they did. I’m very happy and emotional just being able to talk to them because my parents are the reason I play this beautiful sport.”

One of the other reasons Echavarria and his brothers took up golf was being inspired by Tiger Woods, the winner of the Zozo Championship in 2019. Echavarria attended the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews and saw Woods play. Echavarria’s older brother, Andres, who has been a professional golfer since 2011, is a two-time PGA Tour Latinoamerica winner. His other brother, Miguel, played golf for the University of Michigan.

Now, Echavarria has something on Woods, if only a throwaway statistic: his 72-hole score of 260 edged Woods’ scoring record at the Zozo by one shot.

“It’s incredible to win a tournament that Tiger’s won,” Echavarria said. “This is my second victory, so I just need 80 more victories to catch him. I’m on my way, though.”

At the very least, he’s on his way to Augusta National next spring.

Main image: Lintao Zhang