Hideki Matsuyama claims Genesis Invitational with bonkers (!) final round of 62
Hideki Matsuyama destroyed the field on the final day at Riviera Country Club to claim Tiger Woods' Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour.
Hideki Matsuyama overcame a six-shot deficit to claim the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour and end a two-year winless drought.
Matsuyama played like a man possessed and simply tore apart Riviera Country Club on Sunday.
The Japanese golfer, who won the Masters in 2021, carded a final round of 9-under 62 to reach a total of 17-under par.
Matsuyama raced out of the blocks and put circles on his scorecard on the first, second and third holes.
After turning in 3-under 32 he made three more consecutive birdies from the 10th. More birdies followed at 15, 16 and 17.
His approach from 189 yards on the 15th left him with an 8-inch birdie putt. At the next hole, from 160 yards, he left himself six inches for birdie.
There was a point of contention though as some fans thought his golf ball moved as he addressed his third shot on the penultimate hole of the day.
But tournament officials did not believe that it needed further investigation.
This was Matsuyama's ninth PGA Tour win and his first since claiming the Sony Open in 2022. He picked up the top prize of $4m.
Tiger Woods served as a playing tournament host but the 15-time major champion withdrew at the start of the second round with influenza.
Patrick Cantlay began the day with a two-stroke lead but the American struggled to gain any momentum.
Cantlay and his playing partner Xander Schauffele were accused of playing too slowly. Both players ended up finishing in the top-10.
Will Zalatoris (69) was briefly in contention but a late bogey at the 15th halted his charge.
Watch:
Final leaderboard:
H. Matsuyama -17
W. Zalatoris, L. List -14
A. Hadwin, P. Cantlay, X. Schauffele -13
T. Hoge -11
J. Day -9
T. Fleetwood, S. Burns, S. Scheffler, E. Cole, A. Svensson, J.T. Poston -8
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