All three former Cal golfers improved their positions on the final day of the Genesis Invitational, but it was Japan’s Hideki Matsumaya who walked off with the $4 million first prize after a sizzling final round on Sunday.
Matsumaya, who began the day six strokes off the pace, shot a 9-under 62 — a record score at Riviera Country Club by the winning player in the final round.
In the process, Matsuyama won his ninth PGA title — a record by an Asian-born player.
"Reaching nine wins was one of my big goals, passing K.J. Choi," Matsuyama said. "After my eighth win, I've been struggling with my back injury. There were a lot of times where I felt I was never going to win again. I struggled reaching to top 10, but I'm really happy that I was able to win today."
Matsuyama finished with a four-day score of 17 under par after a Sunday in which he carded nine birdies and no bogeys. Three times he strung together three consecutive birdies.
Luke List and Will Zalatoris tied for second at minus-14 and Patrick Cantlay, the leader for three days, shot a 1-over 72 to slide into in a three-way tie for fourth place at minus-13.
Former Cal star Max Homa began the day tied for 20th at minus-5 before shooting a 2-under 69 to finish in a tie for 16th place at 7 under. The world’s seventh-ranked player, Homa took home $329,000 and it would have been more except for a bogey on No. 18 — his only one all day.
South Korean Byeong Hun An, who played one year at Cal, tied with Homa for 16th place, climbing 11 spots on the final day. An had four birdies and a single bogey to finish with a final-round 68.
Collin Morikawa, ranked No. 14 globally, began the day in a tie for 39th at minus-2 before shooting a 4-under 67 to climb to a share of 19th at minus-6. Morikawa have five birdies and one bogey to take home $251,400 for his week’s work.
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