Hideki Matsuyama overcame the loss of a five-shot lead to rally back and win the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening event of the FedExCup playoffs.
The 32-year-old, who earned bronze in the recent Paris Olympics, found himself with a five-shot advantage going into the final round at TPC Southwind. However, he wobbled down a stretch of four holes between 12 and 15 on the back nine which saw Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland overtake him. But Matsuyama recovered his composure by sinking consecutive birdies at 17 and 18 which was enough to seal his 10th career PGA TOUR title and help him gain ground on the top two on the FedExCup standings collecting 2,000 points.
Defending champion Viktor Hovland finished tied for second alongside World No. 2 Xander Schauffele on 15 under while World No. 1 finished a shot further back in fourth on 14 under in an event that saw the top 70 players in the FedExCup standings, with only the top 50 progressing to the next event, the BMW Championship. Progression also provides payers with the eligibility to participate in eight PGA TOUR signature events in 2025.
Big names including Justin Rose failed to qualify despite a final round 71 which which helped him end the tournament on 6 under but found himself 55th in the standings. The likes of Tom Kim, Mackenzie Hughes, Harris English, and Nick Taylor also ended outside the top 50. While players who sneaked in include Keegan Bradley, Cam Davis, Nick Dunlap, and Max Greyserman.
Schauffele’s second place finish earned him 980 points, closing the gap on Scheffler, who gained 540 points thanks to his fourth-place finish but still holds a considerable lead at the top of the standings.
Current FedExCup Standings (Top 10)
1. Scottie Scheffler – 6,532 points
2. Xander Schauffele – 5,037
3. Hideki Matsuyama – 3,898
4. Collin Morikawa – 2,595
5. Rory McIlroy – 2,558
6. Wyndham Clark – 2,503
7. Ludvig Aberg – 2,146
8. Sahith Theegala – 2,076
9. Patrick Cantlay – 2,016
10. Sungjae Im – 1,950
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR is the second round of the FedExCup Playoffs in the form of the BMW Championship taking place between 22-25 Aug at Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado.