Hideki Matsuyama capped his season with an 8-under 64 on Sunday to win the Hero World Challenge in a playoff, hitting a spectacular 9-iron to 2 feet for birdie on the first extra hole to defeat Alex Noren.
It’s a fitting bookend to Matsuyama’s year, which began with a victory at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, another event hosted by Tiger Woods. The Japanese star holed out from 116 yards for eagle on the 10th hole, a shot that helped him catch Sepp Straka, overtake Scottie Scheffler and take control at Albany Golf Club.
Noren, who couldn’t start his season until May because of a hamstring injury, surged on the back nine and forced a playoff with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole. His closing 64 matched Matsuyama at 22-under 266.
The playoff didn’t require much drama. Matsuyama, known for often taking one hand off the club during his follow-through, delivered a perfect 9-iron that landed just feet from the hole. He even twirled the club in his hand as the ball tracked toward the flag. Noren’s 20-foot birdie attempt slid by on the left.
“It was a perfect distance for me,” Matsuyama said. “Early on the second shot (in regulation), I missed a little to the right. I was going right at it and was able to hit a great shot.”
This marks Matsuyama’s second Hero World Challenge title, having previously won in 2016.
Straka, who led by one shot over Scheffler entering Sunday, birdied the final hole for a 68 to finish alone in third. Scheffler’s bid for a third straight victory at Albany unraveled with a costly two-hole stretch on the back nine. He shot 68 to tie for fourth with U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun (65).
Matsuyama went out in 31 and pulled even with Straka after holing out for eagle on the 10th.
The tournament’s pivotal moment came at the par-5 11th. Scheffler, trailing by two, attempted an aggressive driver off the fairway from 291 yards with a speck of mud on his ball. The shot veered left under a small bush. After hacking out to a sandy area, his fourth shot flew over the green into a back bunker. A remarkable sand save limited the damage to bogey.
But Scheffler found another bunker on the par-3 12th leading to another bogey. When Matsuyama drained a 30-foot birdie putt on the 13th, the gap had grown to five shots.
Scheffler’s remarkable consistency remains intact. He hasn’t finished worse than tied for eighth in his last 16 events dating back to the Houston Open in late March.
“It’s nice to come down here, kind of gauge where I’m at,” Scheffler said. “I definitely felt like some of the stuff I’ve been working on the last few weeks, I saw some progress here, and the stuff I was focused on in the offseason, definitely saw some progress here as well. Good place to be.”
Matsuyama now has 21 wins worldwide. He wore his traditional yellow shirt for Sunday’s final round, starting three shots off the lead. Despite failing to capitalize on both par 5s on the back nine, his bogey-free performance and clutch playoff shot earned him his third trophy presentation from Woods.
“Tiger told me to shoot 10 under today,” Matsuyama said. “I didn’t shoot 10 under, but I’m very happy to win this week.”
