KAPALUA, Hawaii — Hideki Matsuyama opened the new season with a record, though it was hard to tell with his emotions. He was a machine at Sentry, with 35 holes in birdie or better to finish at 35-under par, both PGA Tour records.
He smiled broadly as his lover, Shota Hayafuji, spoke to him on the side of Sunday’s 18th green at Kapalua after one final birdie gave Matsuyama the scoring record and a three-shot victory over Collin Morikawa.
“Otoshidama arigato gozaimasu.”
It roughly translates to a traditional Japanese thank you gift to children in the new year to wish them luck and prosperity. Matsuyama earned $3.6 million from his eleventh victory.
There was little luck during the four days at the Plantation course which was as vulnerable as ever without the wind it was designed for. Matsuyama made just one bogey over the final 59 holes to finish at 35-under 257.
With a one-shot lead heading into the final round, Matsuyama holed out 107 yards for eagle on the third hole, extended his lead when Morikawa made three consecutive putts — one for par, one for bogey — and answered a late challenge with another wedge to within feet. are 4.
He closed with an 8-under 65 and started the new season in ways Matsuyama never imagined.
The 32-year-old Japanese star has had a few days of training before the start of the season because he has been unwell, recently with mouth sores. He decided on a whim to switch to a central shaft implanter that he got a few days after Christmas.
“I used a putter for the first time here,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter. Asked why this puttering style worked so well for him, he added, “I’m not sure, but it came in.
The last one was for the record book. Matsuyama wasn’t entirely sure that 34 under would be the 72-hole record. The tournament was already in the bag.
“That last putt, it felt like if I made it, it would be a record,” he said. “So I’m very happy that it came in.”
He stretched out his arm and slowly pumped the first one as it fell. His 35 years broke the record set by Cameron Smith at Kapalua in 2022. It was also his 35th hole for birdie or better, breaking the record set by Smith in 2022 and matched by Sungjae Im at Kapalua last year.
“He was comparing me to myself yesterday when I was shot,” said Morikawa, referring to the fact that both of them shot 62 in the third round that made them different from the field.
“Today he never stopped,” said Morikawa. “Then you get to the third hole and a guy bogeys it. I just knew I had to be on top of it, and let a few slip on that par nine. I played the back nine, but to win of course, situations like this, you have to have 72 [holes]. And I had it for 65 years. “
Morikawa closed with a 67 to finish third after a 32-under 260.
Matsuyama has three PGA Tour victories in the past 10 months, all against tough courts — Riviera last February and the first FedEx Cup final in August. He moves to number 5 in the world ranking.
Matsuyama began to build a breakaway when he drilled a sand sword from 107 yards on the third hole, the ball landed in front of the pin, took one hop and disappeared into the eagle cup.
Matsuyama saw the crowd cheering behind the high green, opened his eyes and pursed his lips and beat his fists with his caddy. That was it. It was a methodical game, a methodical week.
Morikawa, determined to hit it well, stayed in the middle until he had a putt-putt par for the fifth after Matsuyama hit a perfect putt from behind the green to go within. Then, Morikawa had another three-putt from 60 feet, this one for bogey on the sixth.
That got him four shots back, and he did well to stay in the game until the last few holes. Morikawa birdied the 14th and 15th holes — Matsuyama missed birdie opportunities from 6 feet and 10 feet — to close out the remaining two three shots to play.
Matsuyama finished it off successfully with a wedge to 4 feet on the 16th for birdie.
Sentry is a signature event with a $20 million purse, and Matsuyama’s $3.6 million in earnings puts him over $60 million in his career.
I closed with a 65 to finish alone in third place, worth $1.36 million.
Matsuyama is the seventh player to win both Hawaii tournaments on the PGA Tour. Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003) are the only players to win both in the same year. Matsuyama will have a chance to join them next week at the Sony Open on Oahu, where he won three years ago.
Taylor Pendrith produced the most unlikely shot of the tournament, landing his 6-iron at 200 yards for the first albatross par 5 at the Plantation course since the season-opening tournament moved to Kapalua in 1999.
“After I hit it, I knew it was going to be really good,” Pendrith said. “I didn’t expect it to go in. I didn’t see it go in. But the fans who were fired up by the green went crazy, yes, it was a really good bonus.”
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