"Truly special" - Tiger Woods lauds Hideki Matsuyama for an 'incredible' Genesis Invitational win, says he was 'watching all day'
Tiger Woods lauded Hideki Matsuyama for his incredible victory at The Genesis Invitational 2024. Matsuyama won the PGA Tour event on Sunday, February 18, after overturning Patrick Cantlay's six-stroke lead.
The Japanese player started the tournament six strokes behind the leader after the third round, but he rallied for a spectacular final round of 62 to win his ninth PGA Tour event. It was the lowest final-round score by the winner of the tournament in history.
Tiger Woods, the tournament's host, conveyed his wishes for Hideki Matsuyama on his X (formerly Twitter) account, stating that he spent the entire day watching the final round, and congratulated the golfer on his triumph. Woods wrote:
"Congratulations to @hidekiofficial_on an incredible win at @thegenesisinv. I was watching all day and seeing a record breaking 62 and coming from six shots back is truly special."
It is important to note that Tiger Woods was also part of the tournament but he withdrew from it due to illness after playing six holes in the second round. Woods suffered from fever and dehydration on Friday (February 16) and was forced to return home to rest.
Matsuyama was disappointed that he couldn't have a picture with Woods after winning the trophy.
"I'm a little disappointed I wasn't able to take a picture with Tiger today," said Matsuyama (via PGA Tour).
Although Woods could not attend the full tournament, he praised the winner.
The Genesis Invitational was one of the signature events of the PGA Tour, with a limited 71-player field of the top-ranked golfers in the world. The victory at the Riviera Country Club earned Matsuyama $4 million in prize money and 700 FedEx Cup points.
A quick recap of Hideki Matsuyama's stunning performance at The Genesis Invitational 2024
Hideki Matsuyama started the tournament with a round of 69. He shot two birdies on the front nine and three birdies, one bogey, and a double bogey on the back nine to settle for a score of 2-under 69 on Thursday, February 15.
In the second round of the tournament, the Japanese golfer shot two back-to-back birdies on the first two holes and added a bogey on the eighth hole. He made an eagle on the 11th hole to score 3-under-68.
On Saturday (February 17), Matsuyama started the game with a birdie on the second hole and added another birdie on the sixth hole. He shot two birdies and a bogey on the back nine to score 3-under-68.
He played a bogey-free round on Sunday. He started with three back-to-back birdies on the first three holes, added three consecutive birdies from the 10th to the 12th holes and then three more birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to settle for a score of 9-under-62. He settled for a total of under 17, three strokes ahead of Will Zalatoris and Luke List.