Hideki Matsuyama looked like he was on his way to a blowout victory when he drained a 40-footer on TPC Southwind’s 8th hole and a 20-footer on the 11th to maintain his five-shot lead. At that point, the Olympic bronze medalist’s chances to win the FedEx St. Jude Championship were 96.5 percent, according to DataGolf. Then the unraveling began.
The 32-year-old proceeded to go bogey, par, bogey, double — with a water ball and two chunked chips — to drop back to 15-under-par for the tournament. The collapse brought Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns and Nick Dunlap into the mix within a 30-minute window. The tournament, which looked like Matsuyama’s from the get-go, was suddenly anyone’s.
Somehow, amidst the chaos, Matsuyama still emerged on top. The 10-time PGA Tour winner shot a final round 70 to win the first FedEx Cup playoff event. Schauffele and Hovland tied for second place at 15 under, two shots back of Matsuyama, and Scottie Scheffler was fourth at 14 under.
Matsuyama rebounded from his Sunday blip with back-to-back birdies on No. 17 and 18. He drained two more putts — once again leaning on the new Scotty Cameron putter he put into play just this week — to win his second PGA Tour victory of 2024. Matsuyama ranked first in strokes gained putting through four rounds, gaining a stunning 8.2 shots on the field throughout the week.
Matsuyama’s victory at February’s Genesis Invitational was his first in three years. Now, Matsuyama will rise five spots in the FedEx Cup standings to advance to the second week of the PGA Tour playoffs in the No. 3 spot, behind Scheffler (No. 1) and Schauffele (2).
Birdie-birdie finish to seal the deal!
@HidekiOfficial_ earns his second win of the season @FedExChamp 🏆🏆 pic.twitter.com/edkX5k5alx— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 18, 2024
But Matsuyama’s dramatic implosion will leave him with some work to do — including some adjusting to an unfortunate predicament — ahead of the BMW Championship.
Matsuyama started the week in unusual fashion when he stepped onto tournament grounds in Memphis without his full team. While traveling back from the Olympic golf competition the former Masters champion and his crew were robbed at a restaurant in London. A bag, containing Matsuyama’s wallet and his coach and caddie’s passports and visas, was stolen. Shota Hiyato, Matsuyama’s caddie, and Mikhito Kuromiya, his swing coach, were forced to return to Japan to replace their passports and couldn’t make it to TPC Southwind with Matsuyama. Luckily Matsuyama’s passports — and his Olympic medal — were stored safely in his hotel room. Matsuyama used a temporary caddie, Taiga Tabuchi, in Memphis. Tabuchi is the former caddie of Ryo Hisatsune of Japan.
“My job is the same,” Matsuyama said on Thursday. “It’s just play golf. I talk to my coach every night on the phone. I’ve got a great caddie…I’ve forgotten it completely. It’s not even an issue now.”
Despite dismissing the setback early in the week, Matsuyama’s unusual situation could have contributed to his back-nine struggles. When he would have typically leaned on Hiyato’s experience and familiarity, the Japanese pro had a caddie who was still learning the ins and outs of his game.
“There’s a learning curve when you have a new caddie and trying to work things out together,” Matsuyama said on Saturday. “But it hasn’t really affected my play. We’re a good team right now.”
Memphis also marked a continuation of consistent play from Schauffele and Scheffler, in addition to a positive turn of events for Hovland. Hovland needed a flash of brilliance this week after starting the tournament at No. 57 in the FedEx Cup standings, in danger of missing the BMW and failing to qualify for next year’s signature events automatically. But a final round 66 saw Hovland shoot up the leaderboard and the points list, rising to No. 16.
Who’s out of the playoffs?
Jordan Spieth’s 2024 season is over. The three-time major champion finished in a tie for 68th place (with Rory McIlroy) in the 70-man field, two shots ahead of Max Homa, who came in last at 11-over-par. Upon finishing his round, Spieth immediately told media members that he needed surgery on his injured left wrist.
“I’ve got to have it operated on ASAP,” Spieth said to reporters in Memphis, including the Associated Press, after posting a 2-over 74. “And then I’ll go through the process of what I’m supposed to do from there.”
Spieth’s wrist has been injured since before the 2023 PGA Championship. He’s attempted non-surgical remedies since the issue began, but its condition has not improved. Spieth told reporters that he has a torn sheath, which holds his wrist tendon in place.
Tom Kim’s season will also end after the St. Jude. The 22-year-old breakout star finished his Sunday round in Memphis with a bogey and back-to-back double bogeys, causing him to plummet in the FedEx Cup standings and slip out of the top 50. The costly compounded mistakes will mean Kim will not be exempt from the PGA Tour’s eight signature events in 2025. He finished the tournament at No. 51 in the standings.
“This season has just been — it’s just been like this,” Kim said. “I’ve played really good golf, and then had some tough finishes. I feel like 2024 has really kicked me in the butt. But I’ve gotten so much better. I’ve fought really hard just to get myself in this situation. I was 90-something before we went on this run, and it looks like I’m going to miss by one. But it is what it is.”
Required reading
(Photo: Mike Mulholland / Getty Images)
