Hideki Matsuyama's Sunday round at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was a reminder that he has a gear few others on the planet possess. After a range session CBS Sports' Dottie Pepper called "one of the worst" she's ever seen, Matsuyama went out and burned down a leaderboard that included Thomas Pieters, Rory McIlroy, Zach Johnson and Rickie Fowler with a 9-under 61.
Matsuyama, who now has five PGA Tour wins, heated up early as he chipped in for eagle on the second hole. He went out in 30 with birdies at Nos. 3, 6 and 9. Then he really got going on the second nine.
With the course record of 61 in his sights down the stretch, Matsuyama closed with three straight birdies, none of them on putts longer than eight feet. Matsuyama joined Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Jose Maria Olazabal as the only golfers to drop 61s on this course.
"I played with Tiger when he shot 61 four years ago," Matsuyama told CBS Sports through a translator. "I knew 61 was the number today. I was thinking about that at No. 16. I knew if I birdied Nos. 16, 17 and 18 I could get there."
At 16 under on the week, Matsuyama beat runner up Zach Johnson by five and Charley Hoffman by six. It was a masterpiece from somebody who now holds two of the four current WGC titles. Incredibly, the co-54-hole leader Thomas Pieters shot just a 1-over 71 in the final round, and he lost by eight. Heck, Johnson played in the final group, shot a 68 with just one bogey and got absolutely destroyed.
"You wouldn't believe it with how I warmed up this morning," confirmed Matsuyama through a translator to CBS Sports after the round. "I was not hitting it well on the range. I did hit some good shots, but I was nervous all the way around because I really wasn't sure of my swing today."
If only we all could not be sure of our swings en route to 61s. Matsuyama really started feeling himself at the end of the round. He was walking off tee boxes early and spinning his club mightily after approaches to seven feet.
And this is the apex of Matsuyama. His best stuff is nearly impossible to keep pace with, even for 49 of the top 50 players in the world. Yet, he never seems confident in what he's bringing to the table.
It begs some questions. Either he's sandbagging the rest of the planet, or he's not reached his top gear yet. The latter is a scary thought with the final major of the year on deck next week at Quail Hollow and the No. 3 player on the planet coming off one of the great performances of his career. Grade: A+
Jordan Spieth (T13): In his warm-up bid for history next week with the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Spieth was good early and late but not so much in the middle. He finished 45th in putting this week and wasted a top 10 tee-to-green performance in his bid for three wins in a row. A T13 is nothing to be concerned about, though, even if Spieth tabbed Rory McIlroy as the favorite next week at Quail Hollow. Grade: B+
Charley Hoffman (3rd): Hoffman might not have won the tournament, but he gets a high mark for this conversation with his caddie on the par-5 16th. As they were deciding whether to go for the green in two Hoffman told him, "I'm trying to win a golf tournament. I'm tired of finishing second." I love that. Grade: A+
Rory McIlroy (T5): It was a strange week for McIlroy who shot all four rounds in the 60s. He finished second in driving on the week and in the top five in strokes gained around the green. He also finished in the top 40 in putting, which is usually plenty good enough for him to win a golf tournament. But his approach shots let him down, and he lost strokes to the field in two of the four days, finishing well outside the top 50 in the field in this category. If he locks that in for the PGA Championship next week, he could run away and hide. Grade: A-
Dustin Johnson (T17): D.J. only had one round north of 68, but unfortunately for him it was a 75 in the second round. Johnson finished an astounding sixth in the field in putting and couldn't crack the top 15. One quirk that was mentioned on the broadcast by Jim Nantz is that now either Johnson or Matsuyama has won each of the last five WGC events. Johnson won this one last year, Matsuyama won in China, Johnson won in Mexico and the WGC-Dell Match Play. And now Matsuyama again. That's a pretty wild oddity considering only three golfers have more than two WGC wins in the history of the event. Grade: B-