Blair had a chance to take sole possession of the lead in the $5.8 million tournament at Waialea Country Club in Honolulu, but missed a birdie putt from inside three feet at the 18th.
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Gomez won for the second time on the PGA Tour, following his four-shot victory in the St. Jude Classic previous year.
Snedeker struck a brilliant approach to three feet to set up a birdie on 16 and edge one ahead, before Gomez got back into contention by sinking a 10-footer on 17 followed by a sensational 22-foot putt from just off the green on 18.
Brandt Snedeker missed birdie putts from 12 feet on the last two holes and had to settle for a share of the lead with fellow American Zac Blair after the third round of the Sony Open in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday. This is the third time he’s been in the final group in his last four starts. I got on a streak with seven putts in a row.
He said: “I obviously don’t hit it as far as most of the guys out here”.
The 2-foot putt that he pulled on the 18th hole cost him the lead, though one stroke means nothing on a course like Waialae that has produced low scores with only a moderate breeze all week.
Gomez hit a wonderful second shot from the fairway and just made it to the green for a long eagle putt.
He said: “I’m really, really happy”.
“When I hit those two bogeys, it hurt my momentum and I was feeling a bit nervous”. His 280-yard second shot to the 18th wound up just 10 feet away for a tying eagle.
Starting four shots out of the lead in the final round, the 37-year-old Gomez ran off seven birdies that allowed him to soar into the lead.
Englishmen Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Andy Sullivan won singles matches to complete weekend sweeps and help Europe rout Asia 18 1/2-5 1/2 in the EurAsia Cup at Shah Alam, Malaysia.
The South African finished with a 3-under 69 for an 18-under total of 269 at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club. South Africa’s Zander Lombard had a 71 to finish second.
Latin American Amateur: Paul Chaplet closed with a 2-under 70 to win the Latin American Amateur in La Romana, Dominican Republic, sending the 16-year-old from Costa Rica to the Masters. While he finished well back of champion Jordan Spieth, Snedeker’s T-3 effort was a sign he had found form again and had overcome the embarrassment of an 84 at the Australian PGA Championship in December.
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I always remember I won a Tar Heel Tour event in Greensboro and I had to be in Memphis the next day for my U.S. Open sectional qualifying. He still made up two strokes with a six-under outing to tie Snedeker, who was perched atop the leaderboard after the first two rounds.
