MEMPHIS — Hideki Matsuyama could feel the tournament getting away from him, an odd sensation considering he had gone 27 holes without a bogey and had a five-shot lead just an hour earlier.
Even more improbable was how it ended Sunday at TPC Southwind.
On the verge of a collapse, Matsuyama rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to regain the lead, then delivered two shots as precise as any he hit all day for one last birdie to win a wild PGA Tour postseason opener at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Birdies on the final two holes — among the toughest on the course — gave the 32-year-old Japanese star a par round of 70, a 72-hole score of 17-under 263, and a two-shot victory over American star Xander Schauffele and Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who thought they were playing simply for cash and FedEx Cup points until Matsuyama’s mini meltdown.
A three-putt bogey on the 12th. A tee shot into the water on the par-3 14th, where Matsuyama did well to escape with a bogey. Two chips to reach the 15th green for a double bogey. When he saw a leaderboard on the 16th hole, it confirmed what Matsuyama feared.