Hideki Matsuyama avoids collapse and rallies to win FedEx Cup playoffs opener
Hideki Matsuyama has won the FedEx St. Jude Championship just like everyone expected
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Hideki Matsuyama could feel the tournament getting away from him, an odd sensation considering he had gone 27 holes without a bogey and had a five-shot lead just an hour earlier.
Even more improbable was how it ended Sunday.
On the verge of a collapse, Matsuyama rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to regain the lead and then hit two shots as precise as any he hit all day for one last birdie to win a wild PGA Tour postseason opener at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Birdies on the final two holes — among the toughest on the TPC Southwind — gave the Japanese star an even-par 70 and a two-shot victory over Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland, who thought they were playing for cash and FedEx Cup points until Matsuyama's mini-meltdown.
