"It wasn't the first win in my career, but this might be the best," Sato said, a pink lei draped around his neck. "I'm very happy to win the first event especially when there were so many good players in the field.

"I was playing so well all week," he continued, "so I was getting desperate to win. I'm really happy that I won."

When Liu eagled the par-5 15th in regulation, chipping in from 80 feet, it looked like that wouldn't happen, that it would be Liu's day. However, a turning point in the round came two holes later, drama unfolding on No. 17 about an hour before the real excitement occurred. When Sato missed the green on his tee shot and couldn't get up and down for par, Liu had a two-foot putt for par to take sole possession of the lead going to the 18th hole. From almost tap-in range, Liu inexplicably missed the putt.