Matsuyama starts the new golf year in Hawaii with a record

Japan’s golf star Hideki Matsuyama started the new year of the PGA Tour with a record. The 32-year-old won the opening tournament in Hawaii and only needed 257 strokes for the 72 holes. No player before him had achieved that. Thanks to a final round of 65, Matsuyama won the $20 million (19.39 million euros) event on the Plantation Course in Kapalua ahead of the American Collin Morikawa (260) and Sungjae Im (263) from South Korea.

Matsuyama collected prize money of 3.6 million US dollars (3.49 million euros) for his eleventh success on the US tour. Only the PGA Tour winners from the previous season were qualified for the event on the Pacific island.

However, world number one Scottie Scheffler was not at the start in Hawaii. The 28-year-old professional from the USA injured his right hand so badly on a broken glass while preparing the holiday meal that he even had to undergo a minor operation. Scheffler’s start of the year is scheduled for January 16th to 19th at the tournament in La Quinta, California.