Hideki Matsuyama made history on Sunday by posting the lowest-ever 72-hole score in PGA Tour history, finishing with a remarkable 35-under par to win The Sentry tournament in Kapalua, Hawaii. This new record surpassed Cameron Smith’s 34-under score set at the same event in 2022. Matsuyama’s final round of 8-under 65 was enough to secure a three-shot victory over Collin Morikawa, who finished second.
Matsuyama sealed his victory with a birdie on the last hole, which also helped him set the record for the most birdies or better in a single PGA Tour event, totaling 35. Reflecting on the final hole, Matsuyama, who won his 11th career title, admitted he wasn’t sure of the record but was thrilled when the birdie putt dropped. His victory earned him $3.6 million in prize money.
Morikawa, who had been one stroke behind Matsuyama going into the final round, shot 67 on Sunday, finishing with a total of 32-under. Despite his strong performance, it wasn’t enough to catch Matsuyama. Morikawa’s front nine, which included only two birdies and his second bogey of the tournament on the sixth hole, likely played a role in his near-miss. Meanwhile, Matsuyama maintained his composure, adding four more birdies on the back nine to extend his lead.
Collin Morikawa reflected on his performance after the tournament, acknowledging that he had played incredibly well, especially with his 11-under 62 on Saturday. He noted, “He was matching me shot for shot yesterday, and I felt like I was playing lights out.” Morikawa admitted there were still opportunities to score better, but he was pleased with his round overall, stating that shooting 11-under on any course was something to be happy about.
Looking back on the final round, Morikawa said he knew he needed to be perfect to win, but felt a few shots slipped away on his front nine. Although he played a strong back nine, he realized that to win on a course like this, under these conditions, you need to perform consistently over all 72 holes, and he had only managed to do so for 65.
South Korea’s Im Sung-jae finished third with a 29-under total, four shots behind the leaders, while Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas ended up in fourth place.
In an unusual incident, Australian Cam Davis and American Will Zalatoris were penalized for hitting each other’s balls on the 15th hole during the final round. They later played their shots from the correct spots, but both were penalized two strokes. This costly mistake dropped Davis to a tie for 13th, and Zalatoris to a tie for 26th. Without the penalty, Davis would have finished tied for fifth and earned an additional $306,625, while Zalatoris would have been tied for 15th, earning almost $120,000 more.