Hideki Matsuyama Wins WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
The 25-year-old shot a closing 61 to win by five at Firestone CC


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The 25-year-old won his second WGC with a sublime 61 at Firestone
Hideki Matsuyama Wins WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
Hideki Matsuyama won his second World Golf Championship with a sensational final round 61 at Firestone to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
His nine under par round got him to 16 under, five ahead of overnight leader Zach Johnson.
The 25-year-old made seven birdies and an eagle in a flawless round.
Hideki will now go into next week's USPGA Championship as one of the strong favourites.
He should also move back to number two in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Matsuyama started with a par and then eagled the par-5 2nd at Firestone, before another birdie at the 3rd.
More birdies followed at six and nine to take him out in 30 and five under par.
He found another birdie at 13 and then closed out in style, with birdies at 16, 17 and 18.
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Overnight leaders Zach Johnson and Thomas Pieters both finished inside the top 4, with Johnson finishing second at 11 under and Pieters in fourth on eight under.
Charley Hoffman continued his run of form with a 3rd place finish.
It's Matsuyama's sixth win in 20 starts and second WGC after he won the WGC-HSBC Champions last November.
He becomes just the fourth man to shoot 61 on the South Course at Firestone, after Tiger Woods, Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia.
"I played with Tiger four years ago when he shot 61, so I knew 61 was the number today," said Matsuyama.
"I was thinking about that at 16 - I knew if I birdied 16, 17 and 18, I could get there."
He told Sky Sports, "That might be the best round I have ever played."
3 talking points from the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
1 - Hideki Matsuyama is back. After five wins, two seconds and a top five in 10 starts from September to February, he looked like he would be reaching #1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. That now looks back on, and he should go back up to number two with this win.
2 - Charley Hoffman is ready to win again. The American is up to a career-high 20th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has a runner-up and two top threes in his last five starts. On the 16th, whilst his caddie was talking him into laying up on the par-5, Hoffman said, "I'm 3 back with 3 to play. I mean, I'm trying to win a golf tournament, I'm tired of finishing 2nd."
3 - Rory McIlroy is trending nicely with the USPGA Championship this week. After a turbulent season plagued by a rib injury, he has now played four rounds at the Open and four rounds at the WGC-Bridgestone with some good performances, finishing T4th and T5th. He is now looking like his form and confidence is back, and will be favourite this week having won two USPGA Championships which takes place at Quail Hollow, where he's won twice.
Elliott Heath is our Senior Staff Writer and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016. He graduated in Sports Journalism in 2016 and currently manages the Golf Monthly news, courses and travel sections as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Elliott has interviewed some huge names in the golf world including Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn, Bernd Wiesberger and Scotty Cameron as well as a number of professionals on the DP World and PGA Tours. He has also covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as three Open Championships including at Carnoustie in 2018 when he was inside the ropes with Tiger Woods. He has played 31 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Old Head and Alwoodley. He currently plays at West Byfleet Golf Club in Surrey, where his handicap index floats anywhere between 4-6. His golfing highlight is making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, and he has made one hole-in-one.
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Honma TR20
3 wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max
2 iron: Mizuno MP-18 MMC Fli-Hi
Irons: Mizuno MP5 4-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
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