Hideki Matsuyama became the most successful Asian-born player on the Tour with a back-nine charge that sealed the victory.
When the Genesis Invitational started no prediction guru had thought that Hideki Matsuyama will be winner since he was not even in top 10 from past 343 days in any event. The Genesis Invitational, a marquee event held at the historic Riviera Country Club, has a $20 million purse and awards $4 million to the winner.
Tiger Woods made his first official PGA tour start since Last year’s Masters. Unfortunately he had to withdraw due to influenza in the middle of the second round after playing 6 holes.
Second round saw another controversy when Jordan Speith was disqualified for signing the wrong scorecard. Later Speith congratulated Hideki by tweeting
Great playing Hideki! Just make sure you double check that scorecard
Hideki Matsuyama is the most brutal judge of himself.
The 31-year-old former Masters winner is known for responding to shots as though he detested them more than spicy ice cream, even though they are often stunning shots.
Even Matsuyama, putting on his Sunday yellow golf shirt, couldn’t help but smile as he hit irons to within a foot on consecutive back nine holes in order to set up tap-in birdies and capture the Genesis Invitational.
Through his agent, Ken Harai, who acted as his interpreter, Matsuyama stated of his 6-iron at 15, “It was 184 into the wind and I finished perfectly.” “I’m happy with my strike accuracy.”
At Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, the Japanese star stormed out of a five-way tie for the leader with three birdies in his final four holes to shoot a bogey-free 9-under 62, the lowest final-round score in the tournament’s history.
After battling a neck injury for the previous two years, Matsuyama won on the PGA Tour for the ninth time. He did so by winning a 72-hole total of 17-under 267, which broke a tie with K.J. Choi of Korea for the most victories by a male Asian-born golfer. Matsuyama defeated Luke List and Will Zalatoris with three strokes lead with his electrifying 62 in final round.
The putt that sealed the deal @TheGenesisInv! 🏆
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 18, 2024
A moment @HidekiOfficial_ will never forget. pic.twitter.com/Cy8Ce3YgLo
Matsuyama remarked, “There were many moments when I thought, you know, I was never gonna win again.”
He began both nines of his round with three birdies, erasing a six-shot deficit from the previous night. At the 12th hole, Matsuyama made the longest putt of the competition—a 46-foot birdie—to get to 14 under and reduce the lead to one. After leading after the first three days, Patrick Cantlay stumbled on Sunday, shooting 72 to finish T-4. Playing with the best man at his wedding, Xander Schauffele (70), he made the first birdie of the day for both of the players in the final group on the 10th hole.
At the tenth hole, Cantlay had a bogey to stop his run of nine consecutive pars and trail by two. Even though he recovered with a birdie at 11, Schauffele outperformed him when he holed out a bunker shot for eagle. After Luke List made bogey at hole twelve, he dropped to 14 under and into a five-way tie for the lead. List had surged ahead with six threes in his first seven holes. Zalatoris, who had a microdiscectomy on the spine in April, birdied his way to 15 under at 13, but that was his final birdie of the day (69).
“We’re in the right direction, obviously, returning back from what I had to go through physically, but it doesn’t really sit that well, because I have a lot of silver in my home,” Zalatoris remarked. “Wow, Hideki played so brilliantly. Kudos.”
Matsuyama’s third consecutive streak of three birdies helped him break away from the pack. When he was fifteen, he made his eighth birdie of the day by driving an iron from 189 yards to within one foot. His tee shot at the par-3, 160-yard 16 appeared to be instant replay, but it wasn’t; this time, he stuffed it to six inches.
He said, “I hit it maybe 5 yards to the right of my aim, but it became a good shot.” “Everything is OK.”
Yes, it was, particularly after Matsuyama made his last birdie of the day with a chip that was quite close at the par-5 17th hole. His final-round long-range putt to tie the course record scorched the left side of the cup.
Matsuyama had not won since the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii, had not placed in the top 10 at the Players Championship almost a year prior, and had fallen out of the world’s top 50 a month prior. (He was No. 55 when the week began.) Matsuyama last withdrew from the BMW Championship in August due to an injury that first surfaced at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“I’ve been worried every week since that injury that something bad could happen to my neck,” he added. “I played without worrying this week, which really helped as well.”
Hideki has 9 wins on PGA tour since he turned pro in 10 years. Following is the list of wins by most accomplished Asian golfer https://x.com/PGATOUR/status/1759404939959484458?s=20
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