JJ Spaun’s Sony consolation: Main in Aon Swing 5

Nick Taylor defeated Nico Echavarria in a playoff to win the Sony Open in Hawaii on Sunday. Both players have already been to the next two signature events, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Invitational, via the Aon Next 10, which was finalized for those two events late last fall.

Led by Maverick McNealy, numbers 61-70 in last season’s final FedExCup points standings punched their tickets to Pebble and Genesis. After those events, the PGA Tour will draw from the current FedExCup rankings for the next 10, which will consist of the top 10 players in points who did not crack the top 50 last year.

But there is another path to these next two big money tournaments: the Aon Swing 5.

The top five points finishers from the Sony Open, this week’s American Express and next week’s Farmers Insurance Open will be exempt from both Pebble and Genesis.

Here’s where things stand post-Sony:

1. JJ Spawn
2. Patrick Fishburne
2. Adam Schenk
2. Jackson Suber
5. Harry Hall
5. Lee Hodges
5. Paul Peterson
5. Jesper Svensson

“I’m proud of how I fought all day,” said Spaun, who led Sony after 54 holes before falling T-3. “He’s hanging in there with Stephan (Jaeger, also T-3) and Nico and Nick putting the pressure on. Unfortunately, I ended up not going there. You know, it is what it is. I hope to take this momentum to the rest of the West Coast.”

Webb Simpson, Alex Smalley and Gary Woodland are about 15 points behind that fifth tie.