Kapalua ( Hawaii), Jan 6 (IANS) Hideki Matsuyama completed a dominant and record-breaking march to an unprecedented 11th PGA Tour victory following a stylish three-stroke triumph in the season-opening event, The Sentry.
The 32-year-old Japanese star held off fellow major champion Collin Morikawa with a closing 8-under 65 which helped establish a new 72-hole scoring record in relation to par with his staggering 35-under 257 winning aggregate in the USD 20 million signature event.
Matsuyama, who won twice last season to break a tie with K.J. Choi of South Korea for most PGA Tour titles by an Asian golfer, also hit 35 birdies or better throughout a glorious week, breaking the previous mark by one. He had led the tournament from the second day.
“I knew Collin was going to play good, so I was going to say, ‘hey I’m going to shoot 10-under today’, that was the attitude I had,” said a jubilant Matsuyama, who earned 700 FedExCup points and USD 3.6 million.
“That last putt, it felt like if I make it, it’ll give me the record. I’m so happy that it went in,” added the Asian star, who surpassed the previous Tour record of 34-under set at Kapalua by Cameron Smith in 2022, and the 34 birdies or better record in a tournament held by South Korea’s Sungjae Im and Smith.
Im ensured a memorable week for Asian golf by finishing solo third for his fourth top-10 in five starts at The Sentry after he closed with a bogey-free 65 to finish six shots behind the 2025 season’s first champion at the par-73 Plantation Course at Kapalua in Hawaii.
Leading by one over Morikawa into the final round, Matsuyama enjoyed a flying start by holing out a wedge shot from just over 100 yards for a sensational eagle on the par-4, third hole. When Morikawa, who was chasing a seventh career win, applied pressure with birdies on 10 and 11, the Japanese ace responded with birdies of his own on 11 and 12 to maintain his advantage, and eventually cruised home to become the seventh player to complete a Hawaiian double as he had also won the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii.
“On the 3rd hole, 105 yards, I thought, Oh, I hit a good one. I knew it was going to be right there for a birdie, but then I heard the crowd, so I knew that it went in. Definitely happy that it did. It was a delicate touch shot and I was able to make a great shot there,” said Matsuyama, who will make the short hop to the Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu starting Thursday.
Matsuyama’s third victory over the past 10 months will lift him to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking – his career best was No. 2 in 2017 – and it will no doubt be a big motivator for him to chase down current and runaway No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, who missed The Sentry through a hand injury.
“September, November, December, I really didn’t get to play too much golf, so I kind of forgot about the last two (wins), so I think this is kind of the beginning,” he said. “I have goals within myself, and I’m not going to say it right here, but there are unfinished business that I have set for myself that I still am striving to get to.”
Morikawa was disappointed he didn’t put more pressure on his rival when the door was ajar. “Just going through the shots I left out there, there was a good handful that I wish I could have back. It’s going to take me a few hours or a day to get over it. It’s tough to win. 35-under par is, that’s low. He (Matsuyama) was matching me yesterday shot for shot, and I felt like I was playing lights out, right? Today he just never let up,” said the American.
Two-time Tour winner Im sank eight birdies for another bogey-free card as he recorded his lowest four-day score at Kapalua with 29-under. “I feel great. It was a decent finish for the first event and I hope it continues,” said the 26-year-old.
“It was bogey-free round for two days. It was great play. It was pretty windy today but I made some good saves. I think I will take next week off and play from Palm Springs. I need to try to step it up, step by step as this season continues on. My last win was about three years ago. I wish to win again this season but winning is not that easy here. There are a lot of skilled players as well as young and new players who has potential. I am going to try my best.”
–IANS
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