Hideki Matsuyama stormed to victory at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club after shooting a nine-under par 62 in Sunday’s final round.
Tiger Woods hosted the tournament in California, but the 15-time major champion withdrew during the second round due to illness.
Matsuyama hit nine birdies in his bogey-free final round to finish three shots ahead of Will Zalatoris and Luke List. It is his ninth victory on the PGA Tour and his first since the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Matsuyama set the Riviera record for lowest closing round by a winner, recovering from a six-shot deficit and breaking the record for Asian-born players he shared with KJ Choi of South Korea.
Matsuyama finished at 17 under, while Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, best friends who played in the final group, fell away on the back nine to tie for fourth.
Hideki Matsuyama stormed to victory at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club
Matsuyama hit nine birdies in his bogey-free final round and finished three shots clear on Sunday
Cantlay had a two-shot lead at the start of a final round and appeared to be in complete control of his game. But on Sunday he struggled from the start.
Cantlay missed a 10-foot birdie attempt on the easy par-5 opening hole, then didn’t have another birdie putt until the sixth hole. He finished with a 72.
Schauffele struggled just as much, posting a 70 in his final round. Instead, it was List who set the early pace before Zalatoris took the lead midway through the back nine.
At one point there was a five-way tie, but then Matsuyama brilliantly seized control.
Tournament host Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational
His final act was a sharply breaking four-footer for par on the final hole and he clenched his fist – a rare show of emotion from the Japanese star – as it fell.
His 62 broke the Riviera record for the best closing round by a winner by one, set by Doug Tewell in 1986.
Matsuyama had struggled the past two years, starting with a neck and back injury at Bay Hill in March 2022. He had just six top-10 finishes in that stretch and fell out of the top 50 in the world.
“Every week since that injury, I was afraid something bad was going to happen,” Matsuyama said. ‘This week I had no problem. I played without any worries. That really helped.’
The win was worth $4 million from a $20 million purse and moves him to No. 20 in the world. Matsuyama now has 18 victories worldwide, including eight on the Japan Golf Tour and the unofficial Hero World Challenge, also hosted by Woods.