Genesis Invitational 2024: Diving into Matsuyama’s amazing win

The Genesis Invitational 2024 is already in the books and will most likely be remembered by fans for a long time. The tournament was the scene of many important events and Hideki Matsuyama was the main protagonist.

The Japanese player’s brilliant performance earned him his ninth victory on the PGA Tour, making him the winningest Asian in the history of the circuit.

This is the story of the Genesis Invitational 2024.

Genesis Invitational 2024: The Beginnings

In the early stages of the Genesis Invitational 2024, there was nothing to suggest that Hideki Matsuyama would be a title contender. The Japanese didn’t get off to a bad start (2 under, 3 under and 3 under in the first three rounds), but other players were grabbing the headlines.

Patrick Cantlay was the star of the first round with a 7-under 64. Cantlay had eight birdies and was bogey-free until the 16th.

The other leaders after 18 holes were Cam Davis, Luke List and Jason Day, one shot behind Cantlay. A total of 13 players were within 4 shots of the leader, including several well-ranked players such as Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg and Scottie Scheffler.

The first round also featured the return of Tiger Woods to official PGA Tour events. Woods finished T49 with a score of 1 over.

• Patrick Cantlay -7
• T2 Cam Davis -6
• T2 Luke List -6
• T2 Jason Day -6
• T5 Tom Hoge -5
• T5 Jordan Spieth -5
• T5 Will Zalatoris -5
• T8 Byeong Hun An -4
• T8 Adam Svensson -4
• T10 Beau Hossler -3
• T10 J.T. Poston -3
• T10 Ludvig Åberg -3
• T10 Brendon Todd -3
• T10 Scottie Scheffler -3
• T15 Charley Hoffman -2
• T15 Lucas Glover -2
• T15 Harris English -2
• T15 Denny McCarthy -2
• T15 Adam Hadwin -2
• T15 Tom Kim -2
• T15 Christiaan Bezuidenhout -2
• T15 Lee Hodges -2
• T15 Brian Harman -2

• T15 Hideki Matsuyama -2

• T15 Si Woo Kim -2
• T15 Mackenzie Hughes -2
• T15 Taylor Moore -2

Hideki Matsuyama broke into the top 10 in what was a very intense second round. Patrick Cantlay extended his lead to five shots, the largest in tournament history after 36 holes. However, other events stole the spotlight.

Tiger Woods withdrew just six holes into the second round of the 2024 Genesis Invitational. Woods was diagnosed with the flu and was unable to attend the tournament as host to present the trophy to the winner.

In the same round, Jordan Spieth was disqualified for signing a scorecard. Spieth signed for a three-putt on the 4th hole when the actual score was four. It was later learned that the player was also uncomfortable when he finished his round.

During the day, Will Zalatoris made a spectacular ace on the 14th hole. He was awarded a cart for himself and one for his caddie.

• 1 Patrick Cantlay -13
• T2 Jason Day -8
• T2 Luke List -8
• T2 Mackenzie Hughes -8
• 5 Corey Conners -7
• T6 Will Zalatoris -6
• T6 Xander Schauffele -6
• T6 Tom Hoge -6
• T9 Tony Finau -5

• T9 Hideki Matsuyama -5

Genesis Invitational 2024: The Finale

The moving day ended with Cantlay still in the lead, but with Zalatoris and Xander Schauffele just two shots back. They were in the spotlight, while Hideki Matsuyama was T7, six shots off the lead.

But the best was yet to come for the Japanese. Matsuyama shot a fourth-round 9-under 62, a Sunday record for a Genesis Invitational winner. His performance included nine birdies and no bogeys to overcome a six-stroke deficit and take a three-stroke lead that would prove decisive.

Will Zalatoris made the most of the sponsor’s exemption that opened the doors to the Genesis Invitational for him, tying for second with Luke List. List was another surprise player at the top of the leaderboard, having earned a spot in the field thanks to the “Next 10” method – the top 10 players in the FedEx Cup Top 50 who are not otherwise exempt.

Hideki Matsuyama returned to the PGA Tour winner’s circle for the first time in more than 700 days. His previous victory was at the 2022 Sony Open. The 2021 Masters champion had also gone nearly a year without a top-10 finish since his fifth-place finish at the 2023 PLAYERS Championship.