Tiger Woods wants some credit. 

On the putting green ahead of the final round of his Hero World Challenge, Woods asked Hideki Matsuyama, “Didn’t you wear this shirt when you won [the 2024 Genesis Invitational] and shot 62 in the final round?” 

Matsuyama must have a knack for winning Woods-hosted tournaments (although the Hero World Challenge is technically a PGA Tour exhibition), because the Japanese native went on to win the Hero in a playoff on Sunday against Alex Noren.

And this time, all it took was a final-round 64, plus a birdie on the 73rd hole, to claim the event for a second time. He also won it in 2016. 

The 2021 Masters champion began the final round three strokes back of Sepp Straka’s lead and two behind world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Matsuyama shot 5 under on the front and jumped to the top of the leaderboard with a hole-out eagle from 116 yards on Albany GC’s par-4 10th. 

Matsuyama made only one more birdie on the back, at No. 13, and Noren began to charge. Tied with Matsuyama entering Sunday, Noren birdied Nos. 10, 12, 15 and 16 before forcing a playoff with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole. 

But on the first bonus hole, Matsuyama delivered the winning moment. Playing No. 18 again, he stuffed his approach from the fairway inside 5 feet as Noren made a two-putt par. It was reminiscent of Matsuyama’s win at the 2022 Sony Open, when he hit a 3-wood to 3 feet for eagle on the first playoff hole. 

Matsuyama wasn't the only winner on Sunday

Still, Noren ends his turbulent year on another positive note. At the start of the year, the 43-year-old Swede suffered a tear to his hamstring tendon, sidelining him for nearly five months. He returned in May and has since won the British Masters and the BMW PGA Championship, as well as serving as a vice captain on the victorious European Ryder Cup squad. 

“I’m super proud,” Noren said afterward. “It was just amazing to get in this [20-player] field. I got in from an invite from Tiger. I think it’s an honor to play in a tournament having his name on there and everything he does for charity and his whole foundation. It feels extra special to show up and perform when you get an invite.”

Scheffler, meanwhile, was looking to become the first player to three-peat the Hero World Challenge. Ultimately, a final-round 68 left him T4, but he had a chance to join the playoff if he had holed his approach for eagle on the closing hole. 

Now, after a year in which he won six times, including two majors, he’ll look forward to some downtime with his family—without Christmas dinner causing any injuries. 

“It’s nice to come down here, kind of gauge where I’m at,” Scheffler said. “Like I said, very optimistic, did a lot of good things. I definitely felt like some of the stuff I’ve been working on the last few weeks, I saw some progress here.”

As for Matsuyama, he bookended his 2025 with a victory. In January at the season-opening Sentry, he won at 35 under par, setting the PGA Tour scoring record in relation to par by one stroke. 

However, the 33-year-old didn’t record a top 10 in his ensuing 22 starts. Now he heads into 2026 with some momentum. 

And he can partially thank Woods for that. 

More Golf from Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Hideki Matsuyama Comes Up Clutch at Tiger Woods's Hero World Challenge.

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