Hideki Matsuyama broke the 72-hole PGA Tour tournament scoring record on Sunday, firing an eight-under par 65 to finish on 35-under par 257 and win the Sentry tournament.The 32-year-old Japanese star outdueled American Collin Morikawa to capture his 20th worldwide title and 11th PGA Tour victory in the 2025 season opener.Matsuyama sank an eight-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, Hawaii, to take the low-par mark for four rounds.Australian Cameron Smith had owned the PGA Tour all-time low tournament record with a 34-under 258 on the same layout in 2022.Needing a birdie at the last for the record, and with a secure lead over Morikawa, Matsuyama chipped his third from just off the green, then rolled his final putt straight into the hole, allowing himself a right fist pump of celebration.”That last putt, it felt like if I make it, it’s going to be the record, so I’m so happy that it went in,” Matsuyama said through a translator.Matsuyama, who took a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, won for the third time in 12 months after titles at Riviera and Memphis last year.”I was able to get a great off-season and get a fresh start this week and play well this week so it’s a great way to start,” he said.Sixth-ranked Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, battled fourth-ranked Morikawa, a two-time major winner, over the back nine but stayed ahead the whole way, his lead wavering between two and four shots.”I knew Collin was going to play good today so I said, ‘Hey I’m going to shoot 10-under’ and that’s the attitude I had,” Matsuyama said.Matsuyama sank a birdie putt from just beyond 30 feet at the par-3 11th to reach 32-under but Morikawa matched him from 11 feet to stay three adrift.Answering the challenge, Matsuyama rolled in a birdie putt from just outside 21 feet at the 12th, boosting his lead to four strokes.Morikawa cut the gap with a birdie from seven feet at the 14th and reached the green in two at the par-5 15th to set up a tap-in birdie that pulled him within two.Matsuyama, however, landed his approach inside four feet at the 16th and sank the birdie putt to reach 34-under and stretch his edge back to three strokes, setting up his dramatic finish.Morikawa closed with a birdie to shoot 67 and finish second on 260, settling for his sixth consecutive top-seven finish and second runner-up trophy in three years.”Going through the shots I left out there,” Morikawa said. “There’s a good handful I wish I could have back. When you don’t get it done that’s where your mind goes.”South Korea’s Im Sung-jae was third on 263 with Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas fourth on 267.- Early eagle aids Hideki -Matsuyama began the day with a one-stroke lead and soared early on eagle wings.Matsuyama holed out from the fairway for eagle from 107 yards at the par-4 third to reach 29-under, although Morikawa sank a birdie putt from just outside 13 feet to stay within two strokes.A tap-in birdie at the par-5 fifth lifted Matsuyama to 30-under with a three-shot lead.Matsuyama sent his approach into the right rough at the par-4 seventh and missed a 16-foot par putt for his first bogey in 47 holes.Both players sank birdie putts at the par-3 eighth and Matsuyama made an eight-foot birdie putt at the ninth to make the turn with a four-stroke advantage.Canada’s Taylor Pendrith made the first albatross in the event that launched in 1999, holing his second shot at the par-5 fifth hole from 203 yards with a 6-iron.Pendrith’s first PGA albatross came in his 88th tour start. The ball landed short of the hole, bounced twice and then struck the flagstick and dropped in the hole.Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler did not compete after suffering a hand injury in a Christmas cooking accident.
Mon, 06 Jan 2025 01:47:02 GMT
