If he keeps this up, they’re going to have to make Hideki Matsuyama an honorary Thunderbird sooner than later.
Things remained normal once again at the Phoenix Open and by normal we mean normal for the Phoenix Open and nowhere else.
Once again you had more than 655,000 people jamming into the TPC Scottsdale, the tally for the week that largest of any golf tournament in the history of mankind.
Once again you had Hideki Matsuyama winning a playoff to defend his title. Last year it was Rickie Fowler, Sunday it was on-the-comeback Webb Simpson but that didn’t matter. It took Matsuyama four holes and to the horror of the ratings folks, it ran into the Super Bowl kickoff.
It was a long day for everyone but at age 24, Matsuyama never lost his spunk. A closing 66 blew him past overnight leader Ben An and put him in the house at 17-under, where Simpson was nervously waiting after going birdie-birdie for a 64 to post 17.
The playoff was unspectacular at best. Two trips down 18 produced pars for both players then two more pars when they moved over to the 10th. Matsuyama drove it perfect at 17, the fourth playoff hole, pitched to 10-feet while Simpson drove the green, only to find himself out of position and unable to putt at the hole. He settled for 20-feet then settled for par and watched Matsuyama end it with birdie.
“It was a struggle, especially that playoff,” said Matsuyama, who had to come from four shots behind to start the final round. “But I’m happy to win.”
For Simpson, is was disappointing and encouraging at the same time. “Disappointed to not win but he’s a great player,” the former U.S. Open champ said of Matsuyama.
Matsuyama won it with a combination of power and finesse, just as he did last year when he dispatched Rickie Fowler in a playoff.
For Phoenix, it continued to be The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party where the crowds are loud and the booze flows freely.
Unfortunately a PGA Tour player got caught up in the party after missing the cut. Steven Bowditch was arrested Friday night by the Scottsdale Police and charged with Extreme DUI.
Other than that, it was business as usual in Phoenix. The Saturday crowds pushed to a record 204,000 plus and this PGA Tour stop continues to be the best party on the planet.
