Hideki Matsuyama eagles 1st playoff hole to win Sony Open in Hawaii

Defending Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama overcame a five-shot deficit heading to the back nine and eagled his first playoff hole to win the Sony Open in Hawaii this evening at Waialae Country Club.

Matsuyama, the defending Masters champion, started the day two shots behind Russell Henley, the 2013 Sony champion, and saw the gap widen to five shots after Henley closed his front nine with three birdies and an eagle to go out in 29.

Matsuyama chipped away at the lead with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 and didn’t pull even with the overnight leader until his birdie on 18 forced a playoff after both golfers finished at 23-under 257.

Matsuyama, who used driver and hit it 338 yards to set up a 211-yard approach shot on 18 in regulation, elected to use 3-wood off the tee in the playoff. He then hit a wood from 277 yards into the sun to about 3 feet for the win.

Matsuyama, who shot 7-under 63 in each of his final two rounds, earned his eighth PGA Tour victory to match KJ Choi for the most wins by an Asian-born player.