Hideki Matsuyama served notice to the rest of the golfers on the PGA Tour that 2024 is going to be his year. He fired a final round of 62 to come from behind and win the Genesis Invitational. Matsuyama started the final round six strokes out of the lead, but he never let that deficit weigh him down and keep him from playing at a championship level.
After Hideki Matsuyama wowed the crowd and his competitors with his winning effort, fellow pro Jordan Spieth offered his congratulations and a warning to Matsuyama. “Great playing Hideki! Just make sure you double check that scorecard,” Spieth tweeted.
There appeared to be little chance of Matsuyama making that mistake — the same one that Spieth made at the end of Friday’s round at Riviera when he signed an incorrect score card and was disqualified as a result.
The win was his ninth career victory on the PGA Tour. He passed K.J. Choi of South Korea, who held the record for most wins by an Asian-American player with eight. Choi now owns the record, and that is quite meaningful to Matsuyama.
“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 overcame major odds to earn the victory. He had faced 80-1 odds at the start of the tournament and 125-1 at the start of Sunday’s round.
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