Hideki Matsuyama may have shot a stunning 62 to win his ninth PGA Tour title at Riviera, but according to the former Masters champion his final-round heroics didn’t feel anything special – quite the opposite, in fact.
Talking to CBS immediately after shooting the lowest final round ever at Riviera, he told Amanda Renner that his 62 blows, which was just one shot away from tying the course record at the famous venue, “felt like a three over round” and that his ball-striking was “not very good”.
Hideki says he feels like he shot 3 over par today 😅 @thegenesisinv pic.twitter.com/8Q3cdePqccFebruary 19, 2024
There were plenty of smiles between the three, which included Matsuyama’s agent-interpreter, Ken Hirai, the player seemingly aware how ludicrous his comments might have sounded.
And it wasn’t a case of the Japanese star’s assessment of his day's work being lost in translation, although in his press conference he did upgrade his round to “Ok”.
“Majority of the time when I rate my round, it's usually my ball-striking,” said Matsuyama, whose clean card contained nine birdies, including six on the back nine, which helped him to come home in 30.
“Today was an OK round, but I chipped and putted pretty well today, so that's something that gives me a good momentum, so I think that really helped today.”
It must be a positive sign for the 31-year-old that he can post such a score when not firing in all areas of the game – and his return to form comes at just the right time with the Masters just seven weeks away.
Matsuyama was victorious at the 2021 Masters, when he became the first Japanese player and the first Asian-born player to win the tournament.
His latest win at the Genesis Invitational saw him become the most successful Asian player on the PGA Tour, as he surpassed KJ Choi’s record of eight victories on the US-based circuit.
Given his struggles with injury, it was an achievement he didn’t think would be possible.
“Yes, you know, reaching nine wins was one of my big goals, passing KJ Choi. After my eighth win I've been struggling with my back [neck] injury,” said Matsuyama.
“There were a lot of times where I felt, you know, I was never going to win again. I struggled reaching to top ten, but I'm really happy that I was able to win today.”
Matsuyama, whose has a career high of No.2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, jumped 35 spots from 55 to 20, courtesy of his stunning victory on the west coast.
