Hideki, at home for the win, no one could’ve drawn it up any better.
ANNC: It’s on a great line if it’s there. Oh! Hideki Matsuyama,
just over the pin in two on the 18th! One of the best shots we’ve seen
all week at Narashino Country Club. What a moment for The Masters Champion.
And an eagle to win by five in Japan.
ANNC: Matsuyama making 2021 a year to remember! He is your ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP winner.
And he sure put on a show in his home country Sunday.
Sinking a lengthy eagle to kick things off.
ANNC: He loves this hole. He’s gone birdie, par, birdie, eagle!
Then never let up after that.
ANNC: Matusyama for birdie, to get to 12-under and a share of the lead. Hideki Matsuyama!
Nothing could hold him back in front of his fans.
ANNC: Big lash for Matsuyama’s second.
Wow! That’s how you win golf tournaments right there.
And that’s how he got his first PGA TOUR victory in Japan.
It was a heartwarming week to watch Hideki get it done
in his home country in Japan for the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP.
The last time he was here for this event, he finished runner-up to Tiger Woods when
he collected his record-tying 82nd victory. But this time, it was Hideki making history.
There was something about the 18th this week.
ANNC: Gotta get up-and-down if he’s going to have any chance tomorrow, for birdie.
Oh! How about an eagle?! Don’t shortchange the man! An eagle at the last, gets in a 4-under!
Keegan Bradley from the bunker to finish.
And Sam Ryder almost had the ultimate walk off and second albatross of the season at the last.
ANNC: All over the stick. How does that not fall?!
Carlos Ortiz was trying to get his ball to fall. His ball stuck in a tree in Round 1,
tried to throw everything but the kitchen sink at it but it never came down.
And then his buddy Joaquin Niemann, in Round 3,
decided to give it a shot again and got it to come down! He was pretty pumped about it.
Of course, it was Hideki who really impressed from the trees.
ANNC: Get the right bounce. Oh! How good is this? Hideki! That is stunningly good!
The crowds at Narashino Country Club were pumped this week and the players loved it.
Not sure anyone loved it as much as Cameron Tringale, though. He was all about it.
ANNC: You haven’t seen it, he’s been doing that every hole.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Hideki tournament if we didn’t get his signature move.
Classic Hideki, doesn’t like the shot but it ends up better than most.
ANNC: He always has a funny finish sometimes. You can get fooled,
you think it’s a bad shot. That’s not a bad shot, that’s an unbelievable shot!
When Hideki hates it, we tend to love it. At the top of the leaderboard in Japan,
did it again a few holes later.
ANNC: I’m not falling for it!
At least one shot was up to par for him, the one he nearly holed!
ANNC: He looks interested. As he should be! What a stunner from Matsuyama.
Meanwhile the rest of us just celebrate when we finally get a birdie.
ANNC: Harry Higgs, it was a long time coming.
Most days, you just have to be happy when you get away with one like Erik Van Rooyen did.
ANNC: That’ll help the stats. Helps the scorecard as well.
Winning gold at the summer Olympics here in Japan,
Xander Schauffele also drew large crowds and got off to a good start.
ANNC: What a shot!
Local Hiroshi Iwata, who plays primarily on the Japan Golf Tour,
had plenty of support too. He finished tied for 18th.
ANNC: Pours it in.
And Tommy Fleetwood got to meet one of his biggest fans, who brought him a letter.
This week thousands of players chasing the dream
competed in Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School all over the U.S.
Michael Visacki, who we all met during his emotional Monday Qualifying moment
earlier this year at the Valspar Championship. Advanced to Final Stage.
VISACKI: Come on!! Yeah!
Air Force Captain Kyle Westmoreland,
also secured Korn Ferry Tour conditional status at Second Stage.
And PGA TOUR Champions legend Kirk Triplett’s son Sam also advanced to Final Stage.
TRIPLETT: I’m proud of him anyway, he’s wanted to do this since he was 10 years old.
I’m sitting here telling him how crazy it is for wanting to do it, right? And what all the odds are
and stuff, so. I probably won’t call him. I’ll probably just send him a text, I mean it’s his
job, it’s his thing. I don’t call him up and say, ‘oh you’ve really got to try this,
this week or you gotta try that this week. His game is completely different from mine,
if he played my strategy, it’d be way to conservative.
Korn Ferry Tour Final Stage is in two weeks in Savanah, Georgia, but for now,
the PGA TOUR heads to Bermuda.
You can catch your daily recaps in the Takeaway on PGATOUR.com and social media
and then join us back here on Monday for the Good, Bad & Unusual.
Have a great week!