Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama sealed an historic seven shot victory in the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai to become the first Asian player to win a World Golf Championship title.
The 24 year old closed with a bogey-free final round of 66, meaning he made 29 birdies across four rounds, and played the final 45 holes without dropping a shot at Sheshan International Golf Club, to seal the largest winning margin in the tournament’s history.
Matsuyama’s winning score of 23 under par was just one shot shy of Dustin Johnson’s record low total in 2013, with Open Champion Henrik Stenson (65) and American Daniel Berger (69) sharing second place on a distant 16 under par.
Stenson’s result, however, 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.
Northern Ireland’s 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 ten finish in sixth appearances in the tournament, and boost his chances of retaining his Race to Dubai crown.
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 defending champion Russell Knox, of Scotland, 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), meaning six European Tour members finished inside the top ten.
Hideki Matsuyama: “I was really nervous at the start of the day, but I was able to birdie hole number one. I kind of got myself into the rhythm of the day, and after that it was smooth sailing. I was trying to make my 30th birdie of the week at the 18th, and that’s why I got into a little bit of trouble there, but I was glad to be able to get up-and-down and make par.”
“You know, I really don’t know why I played well this week. Over last three years I’ve had to withdraw (from this tournament) twice, and I didn’t play very well the other year. But I got off to a good start and I really didn’t make any changes to my golf swing or anything else. I have putted really well these last three weeks, and that’s probably the difference.
“I knew Y.E. Yang won the PGA Championship, and actually, I was surprised when they announced that I was the first Asian to win a WGC event. 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.”
Henrik Stenson: “It was a sweet putt to make on the last. I probably felt like I was playing better on the front nine yesterday than I did today, but I kept it going all the way to the end. I made some great putts for birdies, and some good saves. It was a nice way to finish with a bogey-free 65.
“I was chasing Danny (Willett) 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.”
Rory McIlroy: “Obviously there are a couple of good scores in there mixed with a couple of ones that I’d like to take back. It wasn’t the win that I wanted, but overall, the week’s been pretty good. There’s always something to play for, even if you don’t think you can win the tournament. There’s still points up for grabs and everything else. That’s what I was playing for today.
“If I have somewhat of a chance going into Dubai, that’s great. But if not, I think over the course of the season, they (Henrik Stenson and Danny Willett) have had big wins and played well. They are Major champions, so I’m okay with that.”
