Hideki Matsuyama stormed to victory at the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club after a nine-under par 62 in Sunday’s final round.
Tiger Woods hosted the tournament in California but the 15-time major champion withdrew during the second round due to illness.
Matsuyama hit nine birdies in his bogey-free final round to finish three shots clear of Will Zalatoris and Luke List. It is his ninth win on the PGA Tour and his first since the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Matsuyama set the Riviera record for the lowest closing round by a winner, rallying from a six-shot deficit to break the record for Asian-born players he had shared with KJ Choi of South Korea.
Matsuyama finished at 17-under, while Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, best friends playing in the final group, faded on the back nine and tied for fourth.
Hideki Matsuyama stormed to victory at the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club
Matsuyama hit nine birdies in his bogey-free final round to finish three shots clear on Sunday
Cantlay had a two-shot lead at the start of a final round and looked to be in total control of his game. But he struggled from the start on Sunday.
Cantlay missed a 12-foot birdie attempt on the easy par-5 opening hole, and then didn’t have another birdie putt until the sixth hole. He closed with a 72.
Schauffele struggled just as much, posting a 70 in his final round. Instead it was List who set the early pace before Zalatoris took the lead in the middle of the back nine.
At one point there was a five-way tie for the lead but then Matsuyama seized control with sheer brilliance.
Tournament host Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational
His final act was a sharp-breaking four-footer for par on the final hole and he clinched his fist – a rare show of emotion by the Japanese star – when it dropped.
His 62 broke, by one, the Riviera record for best closing round by a winner set by Doug Tewell in 1986.
Matsuyama had struggled the last two years, starting with a neck and back injury at Bay Hill in March 2022. He had only six top-10 finishes during that stretch and fell out of the top 50 in the world.
‘Ever since that injury, I was worried every week something bad might happen,’ Matsuyama said. ‘This week I had no issue. I played without any worries. That really helped.’
The win was worth $4million from the $20m purse and moves him to No 20 in the world. Matsuyama now has 18 wins worldwide, eight on the Japan Golf Tour and the unofficial Hero World Challenge, also hosted by Woods.
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