Hideki Matsuyama on Sunday after his victory at the Sony Open.
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He couldn’t see it.
But boy, could he hear it.
The sun was setting on Sunday in Honolulu, and when Hideki Matsuyama hit his fairway metal on the 18th hole at Waialae Country Club, despite a white hat and tinted sunglasses, he was blinded. And then it was deafening.
On the first playoff hole at the Sony Open, from 277 yards out with his second shot on the par-5, Matsuyama landed his ball to within about 10 feet, it skipped a couple times and finished 2 feet away. He cleaned that up for an eagle three, Russell Henley, his opponent in the extra session, bogeyed, and Matsuyama won his eighth PGA Tour tournament.
And those with a seat at Waialae cheered once more. Though maybe not even the most ardent of Matsuyama supporters could have seen this coming just two hours earlier.
Henley, up two to begin the day, ballooned his advantage to five after nine. Over a four-hole stretch, he: birdied the 452-yard, par-4 6th after hitting his approach to within 2 feet; birdied the 166-yard, par-3 7th after hitting his tee shot to 8 feet; birdied the 457-yard, par-4 8th on a 3-foot putt; and eagled the 506-yard, par-5 9th after hitting his second shot, from 205 yards away, to 3 feet.
From there, Matsuyama began to chip away. He birdied 10, and the lead was four. He birdied 11, Henley bogeyed, and the lead was two. He birdied 15, and the lead was one. Then, on 18, the first time around, Matsuyama nearly jumped out of his shoes on his tee shot, got home in two and two-putted for birdie, a round of 63 and a 23-under total, while Henley, after hitting his tee shot into a fairway bunker, lipped out a 10-footer for birdie, a round of 65 and the same 23-under. And they headed back to 18.
There, Henley again hit into a fairway bunker, Matsuyama found the fairway, and he then hit one toward the sun.
“To be honest I didn’t even see it,” Matsuyama said afterward.
“It was a good shot,” a reporter said.
“But everybody started cheering and I knew it was good,” Matsuyama continued.
— Russell Henley begins the final round at 18-under and two shots ahead of Hideki Matsuyama, and four shots ahead of Adam Svensson, Seamus Power, Matt Kuchar and Haotong Li.
— Henley and Matsuyama each birdie the 425-yard, par-4 2nd, Matsuyama on a 7-foot putt and Henley on a 6-footer. Henley is at 19-under, Matsuyama is at 17-under, and Power, Corey Conners and Kevin Kisner are at 16-under.
— Matsuyama birdies the 178-yard, par-3 3rd after hitting his tee shot to 7 feet, and he pulls within a stroke of the lead. Henley is at 19-under, Matsuyama is at 18-under, and Conners, Kisner and Power are at 16-under.
— Henley, after hitting over the green on his approach, gets up and down on the 469-yard, par-4 5th on a 10-foot putt, and he maintains his one-shot lead. Henley is at 19-under, Matsuyama is at 18-under, and Conners, Kisner, Power and Michael Thompson are at 16-under.
— Henley birdies the 452-yard, par-4 6th after hitting his approach to within 2 feet, and he builds his lead back to two shots. Henley’s at 20-under, Matsuyama is at 18-under, and Conners, Kisner, Power and Thompson are at 16-under.
— Henley birdies the 166-yard, par-3 7th after hitting his tee shot to 8 feet, and he moves his lead to three strokes. Henley’s at 21-under, Matsuyama is at 18-under, Lucas Glover is at 17-under, and Conners, Kisner, Power and Thompson are at 16-under.
— Henley and Matsuyama birdie the 457-yard, par-4 8th — Henley on a 3-foot putt, Matsuyama on a 7-footer — and Henley maintains his three-shot lead. It is Henley’s third-straight birdie. Henley’s at 22-under, Matsuyama is at 19-under, Lucas Glover is at 18-under, and Kisner is at 17-under.
— Henley eagles the 506-yard, par-5 9th after hitting his second shot, from 205 yards away, to 3 feet, and his lead jumps to a whopping five shots. (Matsuyama, meanwhile, three-putted the hole.) Henley has played the last four holes at five-under, and he shoots a six-under 29 on the front nine. He’s at 24-under, Matsuyama is at 19-under, and Glover and Kisner are at 18-under.
— Matsuyama birdies the 338-yard, par-4 10th after hitting his approach to 7 feet, and he moves to within four shots of Henley. Henley’s at 24-under, Matsuyama is at 20-under, and Glover, Kisner and Thompson are at 18-under.
— In a two-shot swing, Henley’s lead is now back down to two shots. On the 184-yard, par-3 11th, Henley bogeys after hitting into a left greenside bunker on his second shot, and Matsuyama birdies on a 12-foot putt. Henley’s at 23-under, Matsuyama is at 21-under, and Thompson, Kisner and Glover are at 18-under.
— Henley drops a 10-footer for par on the 502-yard, par-4 13th after hitting into the left rough on his tee shot, and he keeps his two-shot lead. Henley’s at 23-under, Matsuyama is at 21-under, and Thompson, Kisner and Glover are at 18-under.
— Matsuyama birdies the 384-yard, par-4 15th on an 18-foot putt, and Henley’s lead is a stroke. Henley’s at 23-under, Matsuyama is at 22-under, and Thompson, Kisner and Glover are at 18-under.
— Henley and Matsuyama each rim out birdie putts on the 447-yard, par-4 16th, and Henley’s lead remains one. He’s at 23-under, Matsuyama is at 22-under, and Kisner is at 19-under.
— On the 549-yard, par-5 18th, Matsuyama nearly jumps out of his shoes on his tee shot, and Henley dumps his in a fairway bunker. On their second shots, Henley lays up out of the bunker, and Matsuyama hits to 54 feet, and on Henley’s third, he hits to 10 feet. From there, Matsuyama two-putts for a birdie, Henley’s birdie attempt lips out, and the finish regulation tied at 23-under. They’ll replay the 18th for the first playoff hole.
— On the first playoff hole, the 18th, Henley again hits his drive into a fairway bunker, and Matsuyama hits his into the fairway. On Henley’s second shot, he again lays up out of the bunker, and Matsuyama hits his, from 277 yards away, to 2 feet. From there, Henley hits over the green and bogeys, Matsuyama eagles, and he wins his eighth Tour victory.
The final word
“I was five back at the turn, Russell was playing beautifully, and I got on a roll.” — Matsuyama, through interpreter Bob Turner, on Golf Channel after his round
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
