Hideki Matsuyama overcame a disastrous back nine to claim the first leg of the PGA Tour’s playoffs at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL LEADERBOARD
H. Matsuyama
-17
X. Schauffele
-15
V. Hovland
-15
S. Scheffler
-14
S. Burns
-13
N. Dunlap
-13
W. Clark
-12
R. MacIntyre
-12
D. McCarthy
-11
B. Horschel
-10
Hideki Matsuyama overcame a late wobble to claim his 10th PGA Tour title on Sunday a week after he was robbed.
Matsuyama began the final round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship with a five-shot lead.
But that lead quickly eroded down the stretch, moments after he was told of a possible rules violation.
Matsuyama was told by tournament officials that his behaviour on the par-4 7th hole at TPC Southwind was being looked at.
The Japanese golfer repaired a pitch mark off the green with his foot but it was later deemed that he did not fall foul of the rules.
Officials confirmed that the pitch mark was not on Matsuyama’s line and therefore he wasn’t going to be given a two-shot penalty.
That being said, Matsuyama began to unravel and played the 12th to the 16th in 4-over par, which opened the door for Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele.
Matsuyama found the water at the par-3 14th with his tee shot which resulted in a dropped shot and then made a double bogey at the next hole.
But a remarkable 26ft birdie putt at the 17th gave Matsuyama a one-shot lead with one hole to play.
Matsuyama closed the door with a dart at the final hole to claim his 10th PGA Tour victory.
He finished on a four-round total of 17-under par, two clear of the aforementioned Hovland and Schauffele.
Matsuyama’s win is all the more remarkable given he was robbed during a stopover in London while heading to TPC Southwind
Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan that his wallet was stolen.
The passports and visas of his caddie Shota Hayato, and coach, Mikihito Kuromiya were also taken.
One prized possession that wasn’t taken from the former Masters champion is the bronze medal he secured at the 2024 Olympic Games.
“We were just on our way back from Paris,” Matsuyama told reporters earlier in the week.
“We were just going to spend one night in London, and it happened in downtown London.
“We didn’t even know it happened. We were just having a friendly dinner, and Shota was the first one [to say], ‘Hey, where is my bag?’
“Of course it was frustrating, but we really didn’t know it happened. It was just kind of all of a sudden.”
Elsewhere, world number one Scottie Scheffler finished in fourth on 14-under, one clear of Sam Burns and Nick Dunlap.
Wyndham Clark, Denny McCarthy and Robert MacIntyre rounded out the top-10.
Jordan Spieth finished second last and confirmed to reporters he is now heading for surgery on his wrist.
Rory McIlroy also had a nightmare week, finishing on the same 9-over total as Spieth
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