Phoenix Waste Management Open -The Wrap

Hideki Matsuyama holing out for a birdie on 18 in his final round.

This one went down to the wire, and then some. This was thrilling stuff. But Rickie could not quite hang on in there, and with a miss left on the fourth extra hole it was all over.

Matsuyama finished his regulation round birdie-birdie, holing a 17-foot putt on the 18^th. Rickie responded with a 10 footer to force the playoff. Both shot final rounds of four under to be tied on 14 under, two shots ahead of Harris English.

And then the matchplay dual began. This was toe-to-toe stuff. Both made par on the first playoff hole, the par four 18^th, and they then played this hole for a second time. This time it was to be birdies for both of them.

They then moved onto the par 4 10th, where honours were again even. Rickie made a fantastic clutch putt, after having gone through the green. The pressure was beginning to boil over, and the home fans were going berserk.

Rickie had made a single bogey in his final round when we went long on the 17^th and found the water. It seemed strange that he took out his driver, as he really didn’t need the extra distance on this hole, and he paid a heavy price for this misjudgment. He could have got the job done there and then.

But then they moved onto the fourth playoff hole, which was a return to the fateful 17^th. And once more, Rickie found the water. This was the ninth time in his career playing this specific hole. Oh Rickie! He took a drop, chipped to seven feet, and then missed the putt.

Matsuyama was also struggling with his nerves, but in the end he had two putts for the win. He missed the first short, but he was left with a little two footer for victory. He wasn’t going to miss this one, and the win was his.

For the 23-year old Hideki Matsuyama from Japan this was his second win on the PGA Tour, having had his first win at the Memorial back in 2014.

Rickie will be left ruing how he played the 17^th, which really proved to be his undoing. He’ll bounce right back though. He certainly proved to himself that he can putt under pressure, and he should take a lot of positives out of this performance. 

Hideki and Rickie shake on the last. Victory was Hideki's this time.

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