LOS ANGELES — Starting the day six shots back and behind multiple top-tier stars, Hideki Matsuyama shot a dominant 62 to come out of nowhere and win the Genesis Invitational on Sunday. He hit six birdies on the back nine to finish 17-under par, three shots ahead of the field. It’s the 2021 Masters winner’s ninth victory on the PGA Tour.
Top-10 star Patrick Cantlay entered Sunday with a two-shot lead with fellow Ryder Cup golfer Xander Schauffele and exciting young talent Will Zalatoris right behind him. As Matsuyama and Luke List then got hot, there was a five-way tie for first place with seven holes to go at one of the biggest events on tour.
Matsuyama, 31, opened his round with three consecutive birdies to reach 11-under, still seemingly out of reach of a victory as Cantlay had been so steady all week. Then, Matsuyama hit the same kind of heater that he did in the third round of the 2021 Masters. He birdied 10, 11 and 12 and then put his approach shot on 15 six inches from the hole for birdie. One hole later, he put an approach on the par-3 16th hole to eight inches for another birdie. Add in another birdie on the par 5 next hole, and Matsuyama had nine birdies for the lowest final round of any PGA Tour event at the historic Riviera Country Club.
Despite an up-and-down career that has never felt particularly consistent, this win solidifies Matsuyama as one of the most decorated players of his era. Not only does it make him the winningest Asian-born golfer in PGA Tour history (passing K.J. Choi), but it puts him even with big names like Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar on the wins list.
Matsuyama has now won a major (The Masters), two Waste Management Opens in Phoenix, two World Golf Championship events, a Memorial and now a win at Riviera. That is as good of a collection of wins as most of his contemporaries, and he is still only 31.
What makes his career so interesting is that injuries have led to a rollercoaster career. He won five PGA Tour tournaments between 2016 to 2017 to reach as high as No. 2 in the world. Then, despite still playing good golf, Matsuyama didn’t win for another four years until the Masters. Then he got hot again with three wins within 12 months, but neck issues led to a slower 2023 season.
When you look back at his entire career, though, one can officially say he’s one of the best players of the last decade.
Meanwhile, Cantlay got off to a slow start with nine pars on the front nine and a bogey on the 10th hole. He bounced back with a birdie on 11 to gain a share of the lead, but he bogeyed two more holes to fall out of contention. His fellow top-10 star in the final group, Schauffele, shot par for the day to finish tied with Cantlay and Harris English for fifth.
Zalatoris, the exciting 27-year-old talent recovering from back surgery that took him out for most of 2023, had his best week of the season thanks to a third-round 65 to push him in the mix. He shot 69 Sunday to finish tied for second with List.
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(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)
