Hideki Matsuyama fired a stunning nine-under-par final round to emerge from the chasing pack and clinch victory at the Genesis Invitational on Sunday.

The Japanese golfer had begun the day lying tied for seventh and six shots back on overnight leader Patrick Cantlay but produced a flawless performance, which included nine birdies, to become the first player in tournament history to card 62 or better in the final round at Riviera Country Club.

Former Masters champion Matsuyama’s round took him to 17-under-par for the tournament and saw him finish three shots clear of runner-ups Will Zalatoris and Luke List, while Cantlay suffered a nightmare Sunday after carding a 72 which dropped him into a tie for fourth.

Along with becoming the first Japanese player to triumph at this venue, it marked the 31-year-old’s first tournament success since the Sony Open in Hawaii over two years ago and he is eager to kick on ahead of next month’s The Players Championship and the return to Augusta National in April.

“This is my first top 10 since the last Players…so hopefully I can keep that momentum going,” Matsuyama said.

“I think it’s really important for me to keep this momentum, especially going to Augusta, so hopefully I can keep that,”

Chasing a ninth tournament victory on the PGA Tour, Matsuyama, who carded 69 and a pair of 68s in the first three rounds, could hardly have asked for a better start to the day with birdies on the first three holes followed by making par on the rest of the front nine.

He opened the back nine with another three birdies in the row, and closed out his round in exactly the same manner which vaulted him to the top of the leaderboard.

Matsuyama still had to wait for the final groups to complete their rounds before he could celebrate, but it proved to be an unassailable lead as he finally put a difficult 2023 where he was hampered by a back injury to rest.

“Ever since that injury, I was worried every week something bad might happen to my back,” Matsuyama said. “But this week I had no issues, I played without any worries, so that really helped too.

“I wasn’t striking the ball really well, but my chipping and putting was working a lot this week. That really helped.”

Elsewhere, Tommy Fleetwood secured a top-10 finish thanks to a final round of 67 which saw him finish on eight-under for the tournament, while Rory McIlroy’s 70 saw him finish as part of a group of seven tied for 24th.

McIlroy had endured a difficult start to the weekend at Riviera Country Club after opening with a three-over round of 74, but shot 66 and 69 in rounds two and three respectively and believes his game is not far off where he wants it to be.

“I’m close,” McIlroy said. “I’m not quite where I want to be, but it’s one of these courses where precision is so important and putting your ball in the right areas.

“If you’re just slightly off your weaknesses sort of get magnified this week.”

Tee times for the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational were released Tuesday, with all eyes on when – and with whom – Tiger Woods would make his 2024 PGA TOUR season debut.

It will be a comfortable pairing for Woods, who will play alongside close friends Justin Thomas and Gary Woodland in the opening two rounds at The Riviera Country Club. The group will tee off at 9:25 a.m. local time on Thursday and 11:54 a.m. on Friday. All groups will start on the first hole.

Woods is making his first start on the PGA TOUR since the Hero World Challenge in December, where he finished 18th in the 20-man field. His last start prior to that was the 2023 Masters, where he withdrew due to an ankle issue. Woods underwent a right ankle fusion last spring and missed eight months.

It’s already been a busy week for 82-time PGA TOUR winner at The Genesis, an event Woods also hosts. He unveiled his new clothing line, “Sun Day Red” on Monday night, and played a nine-hole practice round on Tuesday morning. Donning the Sun Day Red apparel, Woods looked unbothered by the ankle as he walked the back nine at Riviera. It was a continuation of the Hero World Challenge, where Woods said his ankle felt pain-free.

“Other parts are taking the brunt of the load so I’m a little more sore in other areas, but the ankle’s good,” Woods said at the time.

Woods played Tuesday’s practice round alone, where he got reacclimated with the course and tested a new TaylorMade Qi10 3-wood. Woods stopped to chat with some of his team members and Thomas on the famous par-4 18th hole. Woods and Thomas will have plenty more time to chat once play gets going on Thursday.

Other notable pairings for the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational (all times local):

Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay tee off at 9:13 a.m. on Thursday and 11:42 a.m. on Friday.

Nick Taylor, Viktor Hovland and Sam Burns tee off at 9:01 a.m. on Thursday and 11:30 a.m. on Friday.

Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler tee off at 11:42 a.m. on Thursday and 9:13 a.m. on Friday.

Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy and Max Homa tee off at 11:54 a.m. on Thursday and 9:25 a.m. on Friday.

Florida, with its lush greenery, year-round sunshine, and picturesque landscapes, is a haven for golf enthusiasts. From the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic, the Sunshine State boasts an impressive array of golf courses designed to challenge and delight players of all skill levels. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, Florida offers some of the finest golfing experiences in the world. Here’s a look at some of the best golf courses Florida has to offer:

TPC Sawgrass – Ponte Vedra Beach:
Home to the famous Players Championship, TPC Sawgrass is one of the most iconic golf courses in the world. Designed by Pete Dye, this challenging course is best known for its daunting par-3 17th hole, featuring the infamous island green. With immaculate fairways, fast greens, and stunning scenery, TPC Sawgrass is a must-play for any serious golfer.

Streamsong Resort – Bowling Green:
Nestled amidst the tranquil beauty of central Florida, Streamsong Resort boasts not one, but three world-class golf courses: Streamsong Red, Streamsong Blue, and Streamsong Black. Designed by renowned architects Tom Doak, Bill Coore, Ben Crenshaw, and Gil Hanse, each course offers a unique and unforgettable golfing experience. From dramatic elevation changes to sprawling bunkers and pristine lakes, Streamsong’s courses are as visually stunning as they are challenging.

Trump National Doral – Miami:
Formerly known as Doral Resort & Spa, Trump National Doral is home to four championship golf courses, including the legendary Blue Monster. Designed by golf icon Jack Nicklaus, the Blue Monster has played host to numerous PGA Tour events and is renowned for its challenging layout and iconic finishing stretch. With lush fairways, daunting water hazards, and impeccable service, Trump National Doral offers a truly luxurious golfing experience.

Bay Hill Club & Lodge – Orlando:
Owned by golf legend Arnold Palmer, Bay Hill Club & Lodge is a golfer’s paradise located in the heart of Orlando. The course, which has been meticulously redesigned by Palmer himself, features undulating fairways, strategically placed bunkers, and lightning-fast greens. Home to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Bay Hill offers players the opportunity to test their skills on the same course as some of the game’s greatest players.

PGA National Resort & Spa – Palm Beach Gardens:
Featuring five championship golf courses, including the famed Champion Course, PGA National Resort & Spa is a golfer’s dream destination. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Fazio, and George and Tom Fazio II, each course offers its own unique challenges and breathtaking views. The Champion Course, home to the Honda Classic, is best known for its daunting “Bear Trap” – a series of three challenging holes that test even the most skilled players.

Innisbrook Resort – Palm Harbor:
Located just outside of Tampa, Innisbrook Resort is home to four championship golf courses, including the acclaimed Copperhead Course. Designed by Larry Packard, the Copperhead Course is known for its rolling terrain, tree-lined fairways, and challenging greens. Host to the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, Innisbrook offers players the opportunity to experience professional-level golf in a picturesque setting.

Seminole Golf Club – Juno Beach:
One of the most exclusive and prestigious golf clubs in the world, Seminole Golf Club is a true gem of Florida golf. Designed by Donald Ross and meticulously maintained since its opening in 1930, Seminole is known for its strategic bunkering, subtle greens, and stunning ocean views. With a rich history and a roster of distinguished members, Seminole Golf Club offers an unparalleled golfing experience for those lucky enough to secure a tee time.

Whether you’re seeking championship-caliber courses, stunning scenery, or simply a relaxing day on the links, Florida has something to offer every golfer. From the iconic TPC Sawgrass to the exclusive Seminole Golf Club, the Sunshine State boasts some of the finest golf courses in the world. So pack your clubs, book your tee times, and get ready to experience golfing paradise in Florida.

Rory McIlroy’s return to the Pebble Beach Pro-Am started in disastrous fashion on Friday (AEDT) after being penalised for a drop blunder that led to a triple bogey.

McIlroy carded a one-under 71 that leaves him eight shots off round one leader Thomas Detry at the revamped, $20 million (AUD$30m) event on the US’ Monterey Peninsula.

The Northern Irishman once held the solo lead during the day but at the par-five seventh, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty for an improper drop.

McIlroy found the bushes off the tee and had to take a drop for an unplayable lie.

In doing so, he dropped his ball back and to the right of his original line, but the rules state players must now only drop on the original line.

PGA Tour rules official Mark Dusbabek told the Golf Channel that McIlroy “totally owned the mistake”.

McIlroy said he was caught unaware.

“Unbeknownst to me the rule changed in January 2023 where you used to be able to come back on line, take a club length either side. That was changed in 2019 to be able to do that,” he said.

“I wasn’t aware that that rule was changed again in 2023, so I took a drop thinking of the 2019 rules when everything was sort of changed not knowing that the rule was changed again in 2023, so got a two-stroke penalty there.”

Meanwhile, Belgium’s Detry pitched in from the greenside rough on the last hole to grab a one-stroke lead after Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Tour Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

The lead Australian is Jason Day who posted a three-under round, followed by Cam Davis (two-under) and Adam Scott (even).

Detry, chasing his first PGA Tour triumph, birdied the first three and final three holes at Spyglass Hill to fire a nine-under par 63 — one off the tournament record — and seize a one-stroke edge over American Patrick Cantlay.

“It was a great round of golf,” Detry said. “I was driving it great out there. I didn’t really have any misses. I drove it far as well.”

The first two rounds of the PGA “signature” event, which features no cut and an 80-golfer field, are played over the Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill courses.

After completing a sweep of par-5 birdies at 14, the 31-year-old Belgian birdied 16 and 17 to match Cantlay for the lead, then left his approach shot of a raised green at 18, only to punch out his third and have it roll into the hole.

“Just perfect,” Detry said. “It was an uphill lie, I felt pretty comfortable I’d put it within three feet. And it rolled nicely, just trickled in the hole. It was lovely to watch.”

France’s Matthieu Pavon, coming off a victory last week at Torrey Pines, was third on 65 followed by Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo and South Korea’s Kim Si-woo on 66 and Americans Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa sharing sixth on 67.

Among the leaders, only Pavon, Kim and Morikawa played at Pebble Beach.

Cantlay, the 2021 PGA Player of the Year and FedEx Cup playoff champion, birdied the 13th hole, then reeled off four birdies in a row starting at the 17th, then birdied three of the final five holes.

“My short game was really sharp and made a bunch of those midrange putts to keep the momentum going,” he said.

Cantlay seeks his ninth career PGA Tour title and first since the 2022 BMW Championship.

Defending champion Justin Rose of England was in a pack on 68 that also included Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg plus Americans Sam Burns, Eric Cole, Justin Thomas and Denny McCarthy. Only Cole and McCarthy played at Pebble Beach.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, who played Spyglass, was in a huge pack on 69.

The iconic Pebble Beach hosts the PGA Tour’s second Signature Event of the season where a stellar field battles it out for a $3.6 million payday.

The west coast swing of the PGA Tour’s reimagined 2024 season continues in California where the strongest field in Pebble Beach history takes to the links.

Historically, the tournament hasn’t always attracted the strongest field, however, the elevated status of this year’s event has well and truly laid that criticism to rest. Scheffler, McIlroy, Hovland, Homa, Spieth, Fowler – the list goes on – it’s the PGA’s Tour’s premier line-up.

A reduced number of amateurs, a limited no-cut field, and a $20 million purse have undoubtedly helped draw in the quality and strength in depth of players this iconic course deserves.

And be it not for Jon Rahm’s debut outing at LIV Golf Mayakoba running concurrently south of the border, Pebble Beach would be stealing all the golfing headlines this week.

An 11th PGA Tour win for Englishman Justin Rose at last year’s edition put an end to a four-year title drought for the Ryder Cup stalwart, finishing three shots clear of the pack on 18-under par.

The caliber of 2024’s field would suggest Rose is up against it to defend his title, although the early season champions of Chris Kirk, Grayson Murray, Matthieu Pavon, and Nick Dunlap should incentivize every player in the field to stand up and be counted on the Californian coast.

After becoming the first amateur in 33 years to win on the PGA Tour with victory at The American Express, Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap catapults straight into the field where he will look to back up his landmark performance as a pro.

Unlike editions of the past, 2024’s Pro-Am features just a select number of amateurs who will only compete across the first two rounds. The field has been reduced by 100 players to just 80, dramatically raising the average quality on show.

The top 50 eligible players from last year’s FedExCup standings will all tee it up and are joined by the next 10 from the FedExCup Fall, 2024 PGA Tour winners thus far, and the current top five in the Aon Swing 5 points list.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am used to be played over three courses in rotation (Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, and Monterey Peninsula), with a cut made on Saturday evening before the top 60 battled it out on the Pebble Beach course for victory.

With no cut this year, the limited high-class field will alternate between Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill on Thursday and Friday, with the weekend’s action concluding at Pebble Beach.

The general consensus is that Pebble Beach requires a strong performance on the greens. Its generous fairways don’t heavily punish below-average driving performances, but getting close on the small greens is more of a challenge. It’s hard to find a meaningful angle here, particularly as only one of the last eight winners has started 10/1 or shorter. It’s perhaps why the bookmakers have priced the field largely in line with world rankings.

Selected odds

Rory McIlroy 8/1

Scottie Scheffler 8/1

Viktor Hovland 12/1

Xander Schauffele 14/1

Jordan Spieth 16/1

Max Homa 16/1

Justin Thomas 22/1

Ludvig Aberg 28/1

Tommy Fleetwood 35/1

Justin Rose 70/1

Nick Dunlap 90/1

With its new elevated status, the purse in 2024 rises by a staggering $11 million to $20 million, with this year’s champion taking home $3.6 million, compared to the $1.62 million received by Justin Rose in 2023.

Last June, Rory McIlroy was strongly opposed to allowing LIV Golf players back to the PGA Tour and pretending nothing had happened, but his views have taken a turn

The Northern Irishman is “done with trying to change people’s minds” having led the tour’s crusade against LIV Golf since the rebel league’s inception in the summer of 2022.

After saying he hated the Saudi-funded circuit and declaring the players who transferred couldn’t be welcomed back last June, McIlroy was the PGA Tour’s loudest and most passionate supporter.

But after resigning from the PGA Tour Policy Board, gravitating away from golf’s corridors of power, the four-time major champion admits his views have U-turned since last year.

“I think life is about choices. Guys made choices to go and play LIV, guys made choices to stay here,” he said at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

“If people still have eligibility on this tour and they want to come back and play or you want to try and do something, let them come back. I mean – I think it’s hard to punish people.

“I don’t think there should be a punishment for – obviously I’ve changed my tune on that because I see where golf is and I see that having a diminished PGA Tour and having a diminished LIV Tour or anything else is bad for both parties.

“It would be much better being together and moving forward together for the good of the game. That’s my opinion of it. So to me, the faster that we can all get back together and start to play and start to have the strongest fields possible I think is great for golf.”

“Something had to give” when McIlroy gave up his time-consuming role on the PGA Tour Policy Board in November and it was at the end of 2023 when his acceptance of LIV Golf and the Public Investment Fund became more clear.

Following Jon Rahm‘s shock defection from the PGA Tour in December, McIlroy conceded to being too judgmental of players who took the LIV leap and hoped everyone could “come back together” when speaking on the Stick to Football podcast.

Now another of his European Ryder Cup teammates, Tyrrell Hatton, has joined Rahm and McIlroy “understood where he was coming from” having spoken to the Englishman about his decision.

With a peace deal between the PGA Tour and the PIF, LIV’s primary investors, appearing imminent, McIlroy pledged his support to Hatton having spent many months trying to sway players in the PGA Tour’s favour.

“I said to him just like I said to Jon, like I’m totally supportive of your decision if that’s what you feel is the right thing for you,” he added.

“Look, these are guys that I’ve spent a lot of time with, and I guess I’ve said this before, but I’ve come to the realisation I’m not here to change people’s minds, I’m here to just try – especially when I was at the board level, trying to give them the full picture of where things are at and hopefully where things are going to go.

“They can do with that information what they want. But at the end of the day, I think I’m done with trying to change people’s minds and trying to get them to see things a certain way or try to see things through my lens because that’s ultimately not the way the world works.

“You know, these are guys that I respect and that I’ve spent a lot of time with and if that’s what they feel is the best decision for them, then I’m going to be supportive of that decision and let them go and do their own thing.”

It pays to play well on the PGA Tour. Just ask this week’s winner, Matthieu Pavon.

The 31-year-old rookie became the first player from France to win on the PGA Tour with his 72nd hole birdie on Saturday at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Pavon had five birdies in his closing 3-under 69, none more important than his great putt on the 18th hole for his first Tour victory and second worldwide win in the past four months.

Pavon will take home $1.62 million for his efforts. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Nicolai Hojgaard, who was on the 2023 European Ryder Cup team, made birdie on the final hole to take solo second and a check for $981,000.