Albany (The Bahamas): For once at the Albany Golf Course, the focus was not on Tiger Woods. It was, instead, on a 24-year-old from Japan, who would have spent an anxious Saturday night, 18 holes shy of the biggest win of his career.
And when the moment came for Hideki Matsuyama, he not only was good enough to beat back a charging Henrik Stenson, Olympic silver medallist and one of the two form players of the year, but also overcome his nerves to claim the $1 million winner’s cheque at the $3.5 million 18th Hero World Challenge on Sunday evening.
It was in the end a narrow, two-stroke victory, Matsuyama returning an 18-under four day total of 270, one over par 73 on the day, and two ahead of the lanky Swede with a trio of Americans — Matt Kuchar, Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler — sharing third place on 13 under 275.
Defending champion Bubba Watson, 2014 winner Jordan Spieth and Brandt Snedeker were a further two shots tied for sixth. Tournament host Tiger Woods endured another day of sunshine and shade to take sole 15th place, 14 shots behind the red-hot Matsuyama, who made it four wins in his last five starts, the other being a second-place finish last month in Malaysia.
“It feels good to be back out here playing again, competing and trying to beat the best players in the world. I missed it. I love it,” Woods said after his four over par round of 76 that had three bogies, three doubles and five birdies.
Nineteen years ago, Matsuyama, then five, had videotaped Woods’ 1997 Masters win. He may have missed some of the 14-time major winner’s subsequent feats, but the dream fired all those years ago were clearly fulfilled when he collected the imposing World Challenge trophy standing alongside his childhood idol in the Bahamian dusk.
“I cannot say that I played well today, but I did win Tiger’s tournament, and what a great honour that is,” the taciturn Matsuyama was to say later. “Everyone out here is so good. I’ve been fortunate to play well these last five weeks, and any other pro, if they get on a run, they’ll probably do the same thing and I feel like there’s a lot of other players that are better than I am.”
For all his modesty, it was the stunning golf Matsuyama had turned on Saturday, and his ice-cool nerve on the final day that blunted Stenson’s charge. He held a six-shot lead going into the back nine but double bogeyed the 10th hole to give away two shots out of the lead.
On the 14th, he three-putted from less than 20 feet and with Stenson making a birdie, the lead had suddenly melted to three shots. And when the Swede birdied the 16th and Matsuyama played out for par, it was down to two.
Two pars, and Stenson’s missed birdie putt on the 17th, and another on the 18th decided the issue, especially when Matsuyama popped a nerveless chip to within tap-in distance after over-hitting his approach iron shot. “He hit a very classy chip there,” Stenson was to say afterwards. It also summed up Matsuyama’s effort for the week. A classy win from a classy golfer we will hear much more about in years to come.
