Hideki rides high with second Hero World Challenge victory
For the first time in a decade at Albany, a playoff was needed to crown a Hero World Challenge champion. Paired alongside each other all day, Hideki Matsuyama and Alex Noren both shot 8-under 64 to finish tied at 22-under-par 266 after 72 holes.
On the first playoff hole, the par-4 18th, Matsuyama hit his 166-yard approach shot with a 9-iron to three feet and tapped in to secure the win. The victory is his second at Albany, having won the Hero World Challenge in 2016. For Matsuyama, he began the season in Hawaii with a win at The Sentry, and he closed out the year with a victory in The Bahamas.
A turning point in the tournament for Matsuyama came on the 10th hole. Matsuyama hit his approach shot from 116 yards out, spun it back a few feet and found the bottom of the cup for eagle. That came on the heels of a bogey-free front nine where for the third consecutive day, he shot 5-under-par on the opening nine.
“A lot of luck with No. 10 eagle, and also the playing with Alex,” Matsuyama said of what helped him during the final round. “(Alex) played well, like, last four, five holes, so it was good mood playing together. No. 10, to win we need a birdie. Before he hits the second shot, Alex hits really good shot and I was able to ?? yeah, I got the great imagination from Alex and able to hit a great shot.”
The triumph is the third of Matsuyama’s career at a Tiger Woods-hosted tournament. The 2016 victory at Albany was his first, and Matsuyama won The Genesis Invitational in 2024 at The Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
“Tiger is my idol,” Matsuyama said of the tournament host. “Nine years ago (when I first won the Hero World Challenge) was the first time able to take picture with Tiger and I want to take picture with Tiger more. That’s why I play well at Tiger’s events.”
For Matsuyama to emerge victorious, he had to move past a crowded leaderboard. Matsuyama started the final round tied for third, three shots back of 54-hole leader Sepp Straka. Two-time defending champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was two shots ahead of Matsuyama and Noren to start the day. Straka finished one shot back of the playoff, in third place, while Scheffler tied for fourth with J.J. Spaun.
Spaun, the 2025 U.S. Open winner, made his Hero World Challenge debut this week after a banner year for him. Having grown up in Los Angeles, Spaun attended the Hero World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club and this year made his first start in the limited-field invitational. Playing in the Woods-hosted event was a key accomplishment for Spaun.
“He watched me my entire warmup yesterday, like right on my bag,” Spaun said of Woods. “We were chatting back and forth. It was cool, like I loved coming to this tournament growing up in L.A. and just enjoy being involved with anything Tiger does. If you’re kind of hanging around him, you’re in good company, you’re doing something right. It’s been such a fun week and an honor to be here.”
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