Hideki Matsuyama survives late collapse, rules controversy, wins first FedEx Cup playoff event

Through 64 holes this week, Matsuyama was unflappable — to the point where he’d built a five-shot lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championship as he walked off the 11th green.

It had been a week filled with adversity for Matsuyama outside the ropes, but no matter. Matsuyama seemed just fine inside the ropes. That’s where he appeared to be cruising to his second PGA Tour title of the season.

It didn’t go so smoothly.

As Matsuyama headed to 12, a rules official approached.

They talked. The NBC broadcasters were confused.

Eventually, PGA Tour Lead TV Rules and Video Analyst Mark Dusbabek came on to explain that Matsuyama wasn’t going to be penalized. Five holes earlier, at the 7th, Matsuyama had stepped on a pitch mark that was off the green. But it was determined, after the conversation, that it was far enough away from his intended line of play, so no penalty.

PGA Tour rules official Gary Young told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis the Tour later found supporting video evidence that the pitch mark was about three feet off his line of play.

Matsuyama also told Lewis later the conversation didn’t bother him.

“If I was worried that I had done something wrong and was going to be penalized, that would have rattled me,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter. “But it was really a non-issue so it was fine.”

It didn’t look that way.

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He then pulled his tee shot at the 12th and made bogey. No worries, he was still up four shots.

He then pushed his tee shot on 13 into the bunker. No worries, he made par and was still up four.

He then blocked his approach at 14 into the water. No worries, he got up and down for bogey and was still up two.

He then blasted his approach at 15 over the green and flubbed his pitch short of the green and made double. No worries, he had a par-5 remaining.

He then left his third shot short of the green and missed the putt for birdie. Big worry. His once-five-shot lead was gone and he had two brutal par-4s at TPC Southwind left to play.

“When I was playing the 16th hole and looked at the scoreboard, sure enough … I was a stroke back,” Matsuyama admitted afterward. “I felt today’s victory slipping away at that point because 17 and 18 are difficult holes enough, let alone to birdie them.”

That’s when Matsuyama flipped the script. After finally finding the green in regulation on 17, Matsuyama buried a birdie putt from 26 feet to take the lead by one over Xander Schuaffele and Viktor Hovland, who had a birdie putt from nine feet on the 18th. But Hovland missed and Matsuyama stuffed his approach at Southwind’s hardest hole to six feet, making the putt to secure a two-shot victory at 16 under in the first FedEx Cup Playoff event of the season.

“I knew I still had two holes left, and that was just what I was thinking: Two more holes. I’ve got to make one birdie,” he said. “On that putt [on 17], I drew from this entire week’s putting on the greens. I putted well all week, and I thought, well, I did it before, let’s do it again. Then 18 was just gravy, I guess.”

His even-par 70 in the final round doesn’t begin to tell the full story.

It’s Matusyama’s second win of the season after he won for the first time in two years at the Genesis Invitational earlier in February.

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Matsuyama’s week was thrown into chaos before it even began when he, his caddie, Shota Hayafuji, and coach, Mikhito Kuromiya were all robbed at the London Airport while traveling from the Olympics. Hayafuji and Kuromiya both had their passports taken, which meant they had to go back to Japan.

While Dan Hicks reported Hayafuji would be back in time for next week’s BMW Championship, he had to miss this week.

However, Matsuyama dominated all week with fill-in caddie Taiga Tabuchi and a brand-new putter. The 2021 Masters winner entered the week 133rd on the Tour in strokes gained: putting, but led the field in the category for the week, despite contemplating a putter change on Sunday.

“It was Taiga’s first time I’ve worked with him,” Matsuyama said. “In fact, I hadn’t really spoken to him very much prior to this week. I knew he was caddying for Ryo on the Tourearlier in the year, so we did play some practice rounds together.

“On the course, you have a routine, but with a new caddie, that routine changes, and so we were working through that all week. But he was a great help to me. Helped me read a lot of putts. A lot of good lines that he gave me.”

His last-minute recovery and Hovland’s late miss prevented Hovland from winning his third-straight playoff event after winning both the BMW and Tour Championship in 2023 on his way to the FedEx Cup title.

But Hovland is in a very different place than he was a year ago as he entered this week outside the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings. His co-runner-up finish nearly assures him a chance to defend both his BMW and Tour Championship titles despite the down year.

He finished tied with Xander Schauffele, who shot 63 in the final round to vault up the leaderboard and finish one ahead of Scottie Scheffler, the man he’s locked with in an increasingly tight race for Player of the Year.