Hideki Matsuyama nearly collapsed on Sunday after losing a five-shot lead but managed to pull through to claim the victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Matsuyama finished the tournament at 17-under and claimed a two-shot victory over Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele despite only shooting an even par in the final round on Sunday.
The Japanese star entered the last day of the tournament as a heavy favorite to come out with a win due to his quick start through the first three rounds, but Sunday’s win proved to be much more difficult than he had expected.
Matsuyama finished the 11th hole of the final round with a five-stroke lead over second place after going 27 straight holes without a bogey, per NBC Sports.
As Matsuyama was walking toward the 12th hole, a rules official approached the golfer to discuss his actions on an earlier hole.
After some discussion, PGA Tour rules official and video analyst Mark Dusbabek explained that Matsuyama had stepped on a pitch mark off the green and could be penalized, according to Golf.com.
However, it was later determined that he stepped far away enough from the intended line and would not be penalized for his actions.
Many golfers may have been rattled by this potential penalty but Matsuyama said after the tournament that he was not worried and instead focused on performing well in the following holes.
“If I was worried that I had done something wrong and was going to be penalized, that would have rattled me,” he said through his interpreter, per Golf.com. “But it was really a non-issue so it was fine.”
While Matsuyama claimed to have been unbothered by the discussion about a penalty, he began to struggle and went into the 17th and 18th holes trailing by one stroke.
“I felt today’s victory slipping away at that point because 17 and 18 are difficult holes enough, let alone to birdie them,” he said, according to ESPN.
Matsuyama proceeded to excel in the final two holes of the tournament, making an incredible 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to reclaim the lead and needing just two shots to once again birdie on the 18th.
Nick Dunlap, who finished tied for fifth place but will move into the next round, said that Matsuyama’s recovery was “really impressive” because he “never seemed to let it get to him.”
“That’s why he’s got a green jacket and a ton of other things. It was definitely cool for me to watch. He deserves it. He was impressive all day,” said Dunlap, per ESPN.
Matsuyama has now won two tournaments so far this season after also taking first place in the Genesis Invitational earlier this year in February, per Golf.com.
The St. Jude Championship carried a total purse of $20 million that was split between more than 50 golfers, with Matsuyama walking away with $3.6 million for his first-place finish, as reported by Golf Week.
Hovland and Schauffele tied for second place and each walked away with $1.76.
