Pacific Palisades, CA- There was a new roar at The RIV from the behind when Hideki Matsuyama who started off Sunday 6 strokes back. But before the end of 72 holes Matsuyama had taken the Genesis Invitational running away by three shot with a final round of 62 (-17 under Par).
Matsuyama gained 8.471 strokes on the field in the final round, this was the highest strokes gained total in a final round by a TOUR winner (72-hole events) since 2019.
“Yeah, you know, to win in this tournament was one of my goals ever since I became pro. After Tiger being the host, that goal became a lot more bigger. A little disappointed that I wasn’t able to take a picture with Tiger today,” said Matsuyama.
54-hole leader Patrick Cantlay dropped to tied for 4th place with Adam Hadwin and Xander Schaiffele at (-13 under-par). Will Zalatoris and Luke List were nipping at his heel and held the lead during the final round only to finish (-14 under-par).
“The goal today, this is really good preparation for the majors coming up,” said Zalatoris “I hit great putts all day, I just under-read a bunch of putts.”
The other side of the coin today was Cantlay fall from the top spot slow and thoughtful on every shot. It was a Sunday to forget trying to match shot for shot. Next tournament will be a way to clear the struggles of this final round.
The Genesis this year was elevated to a signature event this year so the prize winners enjoyed a few more dollars. Winner Matsuyama will gain FedEx points along with this year trophy with is strong finish.
“Today was an OK round, but I chipped and putted pretty well today, so that’s something that gives me a good momentum, so I think that really helped today,” said Matsuyama.
