PGA Tour - Sony Open in Hawaii

Hideki Matsuyama made up a five-shot deficit on the back nine and then won the Sony Open in Hawaii in a playoff with one of the best shots, a 3-wood into the sun to 3 feet for an eagle to beat Russell Henley jumping back into the Top 10 from World No.19

“I got on a roll,” said Matsuyama, who shot 31 on the back nine while Henley made eight pars and a bogey. “I'm glad it came out this way.”

Matsuyama hammered a driver on the par-5 18th in regulation to set up a two-putt birdie for a 7-under 63 and got into a playoff when Henley missed a 10-foot birdie putt and closed with 65.

Back to the 18th for the sudden-death playoff, Matsuyama this time hit 3-wood off the tee with Henley in a fairway bunker. That left him another 3-wood, and he immediately held up his hand to shield the sun and search for the ball.

He didn't need to see it. One of the larger Sunday galleries at Waialae erupted with cheers as the ball landed about 10 feet in front of the back pin and rolled out to 3 feet for the eagle.

Henley, after having to lay up out of the sand, sent his lob wedge from 85 yards bounding over the green and he made bogey.

At that point, it didn't matter. Matsuyama tapped in his putt for his second win this season. Both times, he finished with an eagle, only he needed this shot. His eagle at the ZOZO Championship in Japan gave him a five-shot victory.

Matsuyama knew his Sony Open history. It was where Isao Aoki became the first Japanese player to win on the PGA TOUR in 1983 when he holed out from the fairway for eagle.

“To follow him up, I'm over the moon,” Matsuyama said.

They finished at 23-under 257. Matsuyama had his 13th consecutive round in the 60s dating to the final day at THE CJ CUP at Summit in Las Vegas.

Kevin Kisner (64) and Seamus Power of Ireland (65) tied for third, four shots behind.

Asian Tour – The Singapore International

Joohyung Kim claimed The Singapore International in a gripping sudden-death play-off against Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan moving up the Ranking 49 places to a career best of World No.89.

Korea’s 19-year-old prodigious talent holed a pressure-packed 14-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole, on the Tampines Course’s daunting par-five 18th, before Rattanon missed his birdie attempt from eight feet.

The victory also saw Kim, overtake Australian Wade Ormsby on the Asian Tour Order of Merit with one more event remaining this season, next week’s SMBC Singapore Open.

Kim and Rattanon, playing together in the final pairing, had finished the tournament tied on four under, after Kim closed with a 70 and Rattanon 72, setting the stage for a gripping sudden-death play-off.

Thailand’s amateur star Ratchanon Chantananuwat, aged just 14 years old, was in contention for much of the day, making it a battle of the teenagers, took sole possession of third when he returned a 69 to finish two shots shy of the play-off.

For the fourth day in a row, strong winds swept the challenging Tampines Course, but Kim handled conditions impressively showing maturity beyond his years.

This was his second success on the Asian Tour, following his win in the 2019 Panasonic Open in India and when asked which win was the hardest, he said: “Has to be this one. Just because it’s a tough golf course you know, all the players played their heart out. I’m just very lucky to be on top. It was a grind today. I think it was a lot harder than the first one but definitely glad I finished on top.”

He had looked to be on course to take the title in more comfortable fashion and held a one-shot lead playing the final hole in normal time, but Rattanon made an eight-foot birdie after a brilliant chip from behind the green while the Korean took two to get out of the greenside bunker, before making a tense par putt from three feet to force the tournament into a sudden-death play-off.

PGA Tour of Australasia - Fortinet Australian PGA Championship

Jed Morgan sauntered into the history books at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship equalling the tournament record of 22-under par and breaking the championship’s biggest winning margin – previously eight shots held by Hale Irwin and Greg Norman – in beating Andrew Dodt by a remarkable 11.

He is also the youngest winner of the tournament in 60 years, putting together rounds of 65-63-65-69 at a course he knows all too well as a five-year club member.

tarting out with a nine-shot lead over fellow-Queenslander Dodt and soon making birdies at the first and third holes to stretch the buffer to 11, showing that there were no nerves. He made the occasional mistake – pulled tee shots at the par-three eighth and the 11th holes that cost him shots, and a flared second shot to the par-five 15th into the water, but he was generally able to recover. Notably at 15, he took his penalty drop beside the pond, chipped it up and then buried the putt from long range to save par.

The only highlight he could not manage was a birdie to finish; his short iron shot stopped at five metres but his putt fell short. He had to be content with a tap-in for his first pro win and a huge fist pump for the crowd who included friends, family and club mates.