Hideki Matsuyama produced a second consecutive round of 63, then hit the shot of the year on the first playoff hole to edge Russell Henley and claim victory at the 2022 Sony Open.
The 29-year old Japanese superstar, who entered the day two back of Henley, got off to a nice start on Sunday with three front-nine birdies to turn on 32. Henley, though, sizzled with a 29 to stretch his lead to five shots.
Back-to-back birdies by Matsuyama, on Nos. 10 and 11, coupled with a bogey by Henley, cut the spread to just two with seven holes to play. Down the stretch, Matsuyama added two more gains as Henley cooled off considerably, and closed with seven straight pars, sending both players into overtime on 23-under par.
On the first extra hole (No. 18), a poor tee shot by Henley opened the door for Matsuyama to keep the driver in the bag, and instead stripe a 3-wood down the pipe. Using the same 3-wood from 270, Matsuyama landed his approach to about three feet, setting up a tap-in eagle for victory.
With his second win of the early season, Matsuyama earned $1,350,000 and 500 FedExCup points. He will move to No. 1 in both the FedExCup standings and money list. He also picked up 42 OWGR points and will move back into the Official World Golf Rankings’ top 10 for the first time since early 2018.
This week’s Winner’s Circle is powered by Amazon, featuring Srixon.
Pro-File
Full Name: Hideki Matsuyama
Nationality: Japan
Height: 5′ 11″
Weight: 190 lb
Birthdate: Feb. 25, 1992 (age 29)
Native: Ehime, Japan
Resides: Sendai, Japan
Turned Pro: 2013
PGA Tour Rookie: 2014
College: Tohoku Fukushi U
Highest World Rank: 2nd (6/2/2017)
Equipment Sponsor: Srixon
Sony Open: Final Leaderboard
Top-10 Finishers
Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Hideki Matsuyama -23 (-7)
2. Russell Henley -23 (-5)
3. Kevin Kisner -19 (-6)
3. Seamus Power -19 (-5)
5. Michael Thompson -18 (-7)
5. Lucas Glover -18 (-5)
7. Keith Mitchell -17 (-7)
7. Russell Knox -17 (-5)
7. Matt Kuchar -17 (-3)
7. Adam Svensson -17 (-3)
Top-5 Check Cashers
Pos-Player-(Money)
1. Hideki Matsuyama ($1.35m)
2. Russell Henley ($817.5k)
3. Kevin Kisner ($442.5k)
3. Seamus Power ($442.5k)
5. Michael Thompson ($289.7k)
5. Lucas Glover ($289.7k)
Sony Open: Early Rounds
Round 1: Top 5
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 1)
1. Kevin Na -9 (61)
2. Russell Henley -8 (62)
2. Jim Furyk -8 (62)
4. Seamus Power -7 (63)
4. Haotong Li -7 (63)
4. Kevin Chappell -7 (63)
4. Patton Kizzire -7 (63)
4. Michael Thompson -7 (63)
24. Hideki Matsuyama -4 (66)
Round 2: Top 5
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 2)
1. Russell Henley -15 (-7)
2. Haotong Li -12 (-5)
3. Matt Kuchar -11 (-5)
4. Michael Thompson -10 (-3)
5. Keita Nakajima (a) -9 (-6)
5. Hideki Matsuyama -9 (-5)
5. Chris Kirk -9 (-5)
5. Brandt Snedeker -9 (-5)
5. Dylan Wu -9 (-4)
5. Davis Riley -9 (-4)
5. Adam Svensson -9 (-3)
5. Corey Conners -9 (-3)
5. Seamus Power -9 (-2)
5. Patton Kizzire -9 (-2)
Round 3: Top 5
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 3)
1. Russell Henley -18 (-3)
2. Hideki Matsuyama -16 (-7)
3. Seamus Power -14 (-5)
3. Adam Svensson -14 (-5)
3. Matt Kuchar -14 (-3)
3. Haotong Li -14 (-2)
Matsuyama’s Winning Numbers
Topline Stats
Driving: 305.5 (T57)
Fairways: 71.43% (40/56) (T20)
Greens: 73.61% (53/72) (T63)
Putts/GIR: 1.642 (7th)
Birdies: 26 (1st)
Strokes Gained
Off the Tee: 3.629 (5th)
Approach Green: 2.605 (25th)
Putting: 7.264 (1st)
Total: 14.682 (T1)
Matsuyama’s 2022 PGA Tour Season
Starts: 6
Cuts Made: 6
Wins: 2 (ZOZO, Sony)
Additional Top 10: 1
Earnings: $3,550,423 (1st)
FedExCup Pts: 1,153 (1st)
World Rank Before/After: 19/10
Matsuyama’s Career Wins
PGA Tour: 8
2022 Sony Open
2021 ZOZO Championship*
2021 Masters Tournament
2017 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
2017 WM Phoenix Open
2016 WGC-HSBC Champions
2016 WM Phoenix Open
2014 Memorial Tournament
Japan Tour: 9
2021 ZOZO Championship*
2016 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters
2016 Japan Open Golf Championship
2014 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament
2013 Casio World Open
2013 Fujisankei Classic
2013 Diamond Cup Golf
2013 Tsuruya Open
2011 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters
* Co-sanctioned event with PGA Tour
Other: 1
2016 Hero World Challenge
WITB: Hideki Matsuyama
Hideki Matsuyama plays a bag of (mainly) Srixon/Cleveland gear, including a Srixon ZX7 driver and Srixon Z-Star XV golf ball.
Driver: Srixon ZX7 (9.5°)
3-wood: TaylorMade SIM2 (15°)
5-wood: Cobra King RadSpeed Tour (19°)
Irons: Srixon Z-Forged, (4-PW)
Gap : Cleveland RTX 4 (52°)
Sand: Cleveland RTX 4 (56˚)
Lob: Cleveland RTX 4 (60˚)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS
Golf Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV
Credits: Getty Images, PGA Tour Media
