Matsuyama rallies to win Hero Challenge in playoff

NASSAU, Bahamas — Hideki Matsuyama ended his season the way he started it, winning the Hero World Challenge on Sunday when he closed with an 8-under 64 and then hit 9-iron to 2 feet for birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat Alex Noren.

Matsuyama, who began the year by setting a PGA Tour record to par by winning at Kapalua, holed out from 116 yards in the 10th fairway for eagle that allowed him to catch Sepp Straka, move past Scottie Scheffler and seize control at Albany Golf Club.

Noren, unable to start his year until May because of a hamstring injury, charged along the back nine and caught Matsuyama with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 64 to join him at 22-under 266 and force a playoff.

The overtime didn’t last long. Matsuyama, known for taking one hand off the club even when the shots work out fine, this time twirled the 9-iron in his hand as he watched it take aim at the flag and plop down a few feet away. Noren’s 20-foot birdie attempt slid by on the left.

“It was a perfect distance for me,” Matsuyama said. “Early on the second shot (in regulation), I missed a little to the right. I was going right at it and was able to hit a great shot.”

He won the holiday event hosted by Tiger Woods for the second time, winning in 2016.

Straka, the 54-hole leader by one shot over Scheffler, birdied the final hole for a 68 to finish alone in third. Scheffler had a slow start and a two-hole stretch early on the back nine that ruined his bid for a third straight victory at Albany Golf Club. He shot 68 and tied for fourth with U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun (65).

Matsuyama went out in 31 and suddenly was tied with Straka when he holed out for eagle.

But the tournament took shape behind him on the par-5 11th.

Scheffler, two shots out of the lead, chose to hit driver off the fairway from 291 yards away with a speck of mud on the front of his ball. It went left under a small bush. He hacked that out to a sandy area, then hit his fourth shot over the green to back portion of a bunker. Only a superb bunker shot allowed him to escape with bogey.

But then he found a bunker on the par-3 12th that led to bogey, and was five shots behind Matsuyama when the Japanese star holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole.

Scheffler ended his season by not finishing worse than a tie for eighth in his last 16 events dating to the Houston Open the last week in March.

“It’s nice to come down here, kind of gauge where I’m at,” Scheffler said. “I definitely felt like some of the stuff I’ve been working on the last few weeks, I saw some progress here, and the stuff I was focused on in the offseason, definitely saw some progress here as well. Good place to be.”

Matsuyama now has 21 wins worldwide, and he wore his tradition yellow shirt for the final round when he started three shots off the lead. He failed to capitalize on both par 5s on the back nine, but his bogey-free round and a brilliant 9-iron in the playoff was enough for his third time received a trophy from Woods. He also won the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in 2024, hosted by Woods.

“Tiger told me to shoot 10 under today,” Matsuyama said. “I didn’t shoot 10 under, but I’m very happy to win this week.”