Hideki Matsuyama was in contention to win the 2026 WM Phoenix Open. However, he lost in the playoff to Chris Gotterup and walked off the green, settling in second place.
During the Sunday round, a fan shouted just before he was trying to hit the ball. However, as the fan shouted, he backed off. The Nuclr Golf shared a video on its X (formerly Twitter) account with a caption:
“Get in the hole!” 😡 Hideki Matsuyama faced an early shout from a fan on his putt to try and win The Waste Management Phoenix Open, prompting him to back off.”
Hideki Matsuyama was in the lead after 54 holes. He started the final round on Sunday on the first tee hole. He made two birdies on the front nine and two birdies and a bogey on the back nine for a round of 68. He settled in a tie for the lead with Gotterup.
However, he was eliminated in the playoff after making a par. Gotterup added a birdie on the first playoff hole and won the game. He played a round of 64 on Sunday to jump ten spots on the leaderboard to take the lead in a two-way tie.
Scottie Scheffler was also in contention, but he fell short by just one stroke and settled with a total of 15 under in a tie for third place with Akshay Bhatia, Si Woo Kim, Michael Thorbjornsen, and Nicolai Højgaard.
Hideki Matsuyama Reflects on His Disappointing Loss at WM Phoenix Open
“Was grinding all weekend,” he said. “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.”
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