Imperious Hideki Matsuyama Makes History in China

HIDEKI MATSUYAMA wrote himself a little piece of history when he became the first Asian golfer to win a WGC tournament. And the Japanese golfer did it in style, claiming the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai by an impressive seven shots. He began the day three ahead of defending champion Russell Knox, but was in imperious form all day and never looked like being caught.

He had a final round of 66 and finished with a 23-under-par total of 265. That was impressive enough, but the 24-year-old had 29 birdies in four rounds and played the final 45 holes without dropping a single shot. He came to the par-five 18th knowing that he needed one more red number to finish the week with 30 birdies and went for the green in two. His shot hit a bush and finished up in the water, but he pitched to 18 feet and holed the puut for a par.

''No special number,'' he said of his goal to make 30 birdies. ''I made 19 birdies the first few days, so then I was thinking, 'Well, if I make 11 more, I can win.' So that was kind of my goal was to get to 30 birdies."

His winning total was just one shy of the tournament record set by Dustin Johnson in 2013, and he finished way ahead of Daniel Berger and Henrik Stenson, who were tied for second on 16 under.

"I knew Y.E. Yang won the US PGA Championship and I was surprised when they announced that I was the first Asian to win a WGC event," said Matsuyama. “Winning today I feel has got me closer to being able to compete a lot better in the major tournaments. So my next goal is, of course, to win a major, and I'm going to do all that I can to prepare well for that.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwBpo3MELpQ

Many Japanese golfers have been hailed as the next big thing, but Matsuyama, who now moves up to sixth in the world rankings, has both the game and the temperament to finally win a major for the Land of the Rising Sun. He is already a superstar in his homeland but a major success would take him into the stratosphere.

There was only one close call for Matsuyama. It came at the par-three fourth hole, where Berger made a birdie and the Japanese golfer needed to hole a 15-foot putt for par to avoid a two-shot swing. But the ball disappeared into the hole and he birdied the next after hitting his approach to four feet. Three successive birdies on the back nine ensured nobody was going to catch him.

''He was brilliant,'' said Knox, who played in the last group. ''No weaknesses the last two days. He drove the ball well and far, and his iron play was very good. And he made it look very easy.''

Stenson’s result means he replaces Masters champion Danny Willett as leader of The Race to Dubai, with the Swede now 261,387 points clear of the Englishman with three events remaining of the 2016 European Tour season. Willett had a wretched week and is desperately struggling to find some kind of form.

Rory McIlroy also closed the gap on Willett after closing with a six under par round of 66 to share fourth place with American Bill Haas (69) on 15 under par. It was McIlroy’s fifth top 10 finish in sixth appearances in the tournament, but he immediately announced that he will not be playing in the Turkish Airlines Open at Antalya because of security fears. It means that his only chance of winning the Race to Dubai will come at the season-ending Dubai World Championship, and with two events to be played before then, it could be out of his hands by then.

Englishman Ross Fisher (68) and Italy’s Francesco Molinari (70) finished in a three-way share of sixth place with American Rickie Fowler (68) on 14 under par, while Knox, who had started the final day three shots behind Matsuyama, carded a two over par round of 74 to drop back to 12 under par. He shared ninth position with Spaniard Sergio Garcia (67).

Respect.

2015 champ. ????
2016 champ. ???? pic.twitter.com/JSplJXDM2L

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 30, 2016

Stenson was delighted to have overtaken Willett. “I was chasing Danny on the Race to Dubai and so was Rory, and I could see Rory was going at it. I just tried to keep up and it was nice to sneak that one in the last to go one ahead of him. It's going to be tight all the way to the end, and that's the way we like it. It would be nice to go into the last one knowing that if you win in Dubai, you win overall.”

Meanwhile in America, there was yet another first-time winner, with 26-year-old Cody Gribble taking the Sanderson Farms Championship by four strokes after a final round of 65, giving him a 72-hole total of 268, 20 under par. When you consider that Gribble started the tournament with a round of 73, that total is especially impressive. But i means that Greg Owen, of Mansfield, is still looking for his maiden PGA Tour success after yet another near-miss.

Owen played well enough, with a final round of 68. But whenever he gets himself into contention, somebody always seems to have the round of their lives to ensure he doesn't win. And this time it was unlikely named Gribble. He picked up two birdies in reaching the turn in 34, and at that point it was anybody's tournament. He then birdied the 11th and 13th, and closed the door on the chasing pack with birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th.

Owen tied for second with Luke List and Chris Kirk, with another rookie, Xander Schaufelle, a further stroke behind.