The stars were out in L.A., and it was Hideki Matsuyama who shined the brightest Sunday at the Genesis Invitational when a tight tournament suddenly turned into a runaway victory as Matsuyama made six birdies in an eight-hole span to shoot nine-under 62. He ended at 17-under-par total to top Will Zalatoris (69) and Luke List (68) by three shots. Matsuyama earned $4 million for his victory from the $20 million overall purse.
Matsuyama began the last round of the tournament trailing the leader Patrick Cantlay by six shots. Cantlay had a five-shot lead at the start of the third round but ended up shooting 70-72 and finishing tied for fourth place.
This win marks Matsuyama’s ninth success on the PGA Tour, breaking a dry spell of over two years since his last victory.
He had fallen to 55th place in the world rankings. Matsuyama began to distance himself from the competition on the 15th hole by hitting a precise approach shot to within eight inches for an easy birdie putt.
His accuracy continued on the next hole, the par-3 16th, when he landed another approach shot just six inches from the pin.
By making a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th hole, Matsuyama managed to birdie three consecutive holes for the third time, putting him in a strong position to win the tournament. The week began with great excitement, typical of Los Angeles.
This was Tiger Woods’ first regular season tournament since he pulled out of the Masters in April. Before even starting to play competitive golf, Woods was busy with the launch of his new logo and apparel brand, Sun Day Red. He participated in a pro-am event with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on Wednesday. However, after starting with a score of 72, Woods had to withdraw from the second round due to flu-like symptoms and was not seen at the event for the rest of the week. He usually presented the trophy to the tournament winner.
Jordan Spieth was in a competitive position after the first two days of the tournament but unfortunately got disqualified for signing an inaccurate scorecard.
His error was signing for a 3 when he actually scored a 4, leading to his elimination from the competition. “Due to an unusual situation with the way in which the cut was determined this week, only 17 men were eliminated. Justin Thomas and Wyndham Clark were part of those sent packing.”
The West Coast swing has finished. During the tour, an amateur won in Palm Springs, a Frenchman achieved his first tour victory at Torrey Pines, there were rain problems at Pebble Beach, and chaos ensued in Arizona where Nick Taylor won in a playoff.
The next destination is Mexico followed by a month in Florida.
Here is a prize money breakdown for everyone who made the cut this week at Riviera.
WIN: Hideki Matsuyama, -17/267, $4 million
T-2: Will Zalatoris, -14/270, $1.8 million
T-2: Luke List, -14/270, $1.8 million
T-4: Adam Hadwin, -13/271, $866,666.67
T-4: Patrick Cantlay, -13/271, $866,666.67
T-4: Xander Schauffele, -13/271, $866,666.67
7: Harris English, -12/272, $700,000
8: Tom Hoge, -11/273, $646,000
9: Jason Day, -9/275, $600,000
T-10: Tommy Fleetwood, -8/276, $455,000
T-10: Sam Burns, -8/276, $455,000
T-10: Scottie Scheffler, -8/276, $455,000
T-10: Eric Cole, -8/276, $455,000
T-10: Adam Svensson, -8/276, $455,000
T-10: J.T. Poston, -8/276, $455,000
T-16: Byeong Hun An, -7/277, $329,000
T-16: Max Homa, -7/277, $329,000
T-16: Cameron Young, -7/277, $329,000
T-19: Collin Morikawa, -6/278, $251,400
T-19: Ludvig Aberg, -6/278, $251,400
T-19: Viktor Hovland, -6/278, $251,400
T-19: Tony Finau, -6/278, $251,400
T-19: Adam Scott, -6/278, $251,400
T-24: Lee Hodges, -5/279, $164,857.14
T-24: Tom Kim, -5/279, $164,857.14
T-24: Rory McIlroy, -5/279, $164,857.14
T-24: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, -5/279, $164,857.14
T-24: Russell Henley, -5/279, $164,857.14
T-24: Beau Hossler, -5/279, $164,857.14
T-24: Corey Conners, -5/279, $164,857.14
T-31: Taylor Moore, -4/280, $123,000
T-31: Seamus Power, -4/280, $123,000
T-31: Brendon Todd, -4/280, $123,000
T-31: Mackenzie Hughes, -4/280, $123,000
T-35: Rickie Fowler, -3/281, $106,500
T-35: Lucas Glover, -3/281, $106,500
T-37: Sahith Theegala, -2/282, $96,500
T-37: Ben Griffin, -2/282, $96,500
T-39: Nicolai Nojgaard, -1/283, $82,000
T-39: Gary Woodland, -1/283, $82,000
T-39: Denny McCarthy, -1/283, $82,000
T-39: Nick Taylor, -1/283, $82,000
T-39: Kurt Kitayama, -1/283, $82,000
T-44: Emiliano Grillo, E/284, $62,400
T-44: Andrew Putnam, E/284, $62,400
T-44: Si Woo Kim, E/284, $62,400
T-44: Singjae Im, E/284, $62,400
T-44: Brian Harman, E/284, $62,400
49: Cam Davis,+2/286, $54,000
50: Charley Hoffman, +4/288, $52,000
51: Chase Johnson, +5/289, $51,000
Leave a Reply