KAPALUA, Hawaii — Hideki Matsuyama bought the brand new season off to a smashing begin Sunday when he broke the PGA Tour document to par for 72 holes by closing with an 8-under 65 for a three-shot victory over Collin Morikawa in The Sentry.
Matsuyama made an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th gap at Kapalua, extending his arm and calmly pumping his fist in about the one emotion he confirmed all week. That put him at 35-under 257, breaking by one the 34-under par by Cameron Smith set at Kapalua in 2022.
Matsuyama set one other PGA Tour document with that closing birdie, his thirty fifth gap at birdie or higher for the event. Smith in 2022 and Sungjae Im final yr held the earlier document.
Here’s a take a look at the bottom 72-hole scores in relation to par in PGA Tour historical past (since 1983), together with Hideki Matsuyama’s 35-under profitable rating on the 2025 Sentry.
It added to his eleventh profession title on the PGA Tour, and his third win within the final 10 months, all in opposition to among the strongest fields.
Morikawa needed to accept second place regardless of not posting a spherical worse than 66 all week.
It was one other scoring fest on the Plantation course on weeks when there may be little wind, akin to this one to start out the brand new PGA Tour season.
“Clearly, you might want to shoot a variety of low scores to maintain up right here,” mentioned Ludvig Åberg, who had a 65-64 weekend to tie for fifth.
Matsuyama started with a one-shot lead over Morikawa and by no means trailed. He started to construct some separation when he holed a sand wedge from 107 yards on the third gap, the ball touchdown in entrance of the pin, taking one hop and disappearing within the cup for eagle.
Matsuyama noticed the group cheer from behind the elevated inexperienced, widened his eyes and pursed his lips and tapped fists together with his caddie. And that was that. It was a methodical sport, a methodical week for the 32-year-old Japanese star.
Morikawa, decided to provide it his greatest shot, stayed inside two till he had a three-putt par on the fifth gap after Matsuyama hit an outstanding chip from behind the inexperienced to tap-in vary. Then, Morikawa had one other three-putt from 60 toes, this one for bogey on the sixth.
That put him 4 photographs behind and he did properly to remain within the sport till the ultimate few holes. Morikawa birdied the 14th and fifteenth holes — Matsuyama missed birdie probabilities from 6 toes and 10 toes — to shut to inside two photographs with three to play.
Matsuyama successfully ended it with a wedge to 4 toes on the sixteenth for birdie. Each birdied the 18th, Morikawa for a 67.
How the purse was paid out on the PGA Tour season-opening Sentry.
The Sentry is a signature occasion with a $20 million purse, and the $3.6 million payoff to Matsuyama put him over $60 million for his profession.
Im closed with a 65 to complete alone in third, value $1.36 million.
Matsuyama is the seventh participant to win each Hawaii tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule. Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003) are the one gamers to win each in the identical yr. Matsuyama can have an opportunity to affix them subsequent week within the Sony Open on Oahu, the place he received three years in the past.
Taylor Pendrith delivered probably the most unlikely shot of the event, holing out his 6-iron from 200 yards on the par-5 fifth for the first albatross on the Plantation course since this season-opening event moved to Kapalua in 1999.
“As quickly as I hit it I knew it was going to be actually good,” Pendrith mentioned. “Didn’t anticipate it to go in. Didn’t see it go in. However the followers that had been up by the inexperienced went loopy so, yeah, it was a very good bonus.”
Whereas thought-about the rarest shot in golf, the Canadian mentioned it was the eighth of his profession, however first in a event.
