Hideki Matsuyama in ‘Shock’ After Losing to Chris Gotterup at WM Phoenix Open 2026

Ankita Yadav

February 9, 2026 | 8:00 AM EST

Hideki Matsuyama in ‘Shock’ After Losing to Chris Gotterup at WM Phoenix Open 2026 — Hideki Matsuyama

Hideki Matsuyama was disappointed after losing to Chris Gotterup in the playoff of the WM Phoenix Open. The Japanese golfer took the lead in the PGA Tour event after 54 holes. He was in contention to win the event but lost in the playoff.

In the post-round press conference, Matsuyama talked about his performance. He said he was “disappointed” and shocked. He said:

“It’s disappointing, shock. Learned from it, and just get back up on the horse next week.”

After 72 holes, Chris Gotterup and Hideki Matsuyama tied for the lead at 16 under. However, it was ultimately the American golfer who registered the win after making a birdie on the playoff hole. Matsuyama also talked about Gotterup’s “good” putt in the playoff. He said:

“Was grinding all weekend. Didn’t have my best stuff, but hung in there. I wanted to avoid the playoff as much as I could, but I just hit a bad tee shot there in regulation at 18 and Chris made a good putt there in the playoff. So hats off to him.”

Chris Gotterup received $1.7 million in prize money and 500 FedEx Cup points after the win. He opened up about his performance in the game. He said.

“Definitely different than my last couple. I went in with a chance for sure to start the day. Today I really wasn’t expecting to be — I would have had to go shoot a really good round, which I did, but even during the back nine, I was like, all right, just keep climbing the board, try to get into a good spot.”

Scottie Scheffler also played at the event, and after playing a final round of 64, he jumped 13 spots on the leaderboard and tied for third place.

A look into Hideki Matsuyama’s performance at WM Phoenix Open 2026

Hideki Matsuyama kick-started his outing at the WM Phoenix Open with an opening round on Thursday. He played a bogey-free round of 3 under 68. After impressive starts to his game, he played the second round of 7 under 64. He made eight birdies and one bogey on Friday to make the cut in the event.

Hideki Matsuyama started the third round on the first tee hole on Saturday with a birdie. He made three birdies and two bogeys on the front nine and two birdies on the back nine for a round of 3 under 68.

On Sunday, he carded four birdies and a bogey for a round of 3 under 68. He received $1.0 million in prize money with his second-place finish at the PGA Tour event.

Before this, Hideki Matsuyama played at the Sony Open in Hawaii and settled on T13 place and T11th at the Farmers Insurance Open.

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