Hideki Matsuyama piled up 11 birdies in an 11 under on Saturday to set the 54-hole tournament record at 27 under and maintain a one-shot lead over Collin Morikawa at The Sentry tournament at Kapalua, Hawaii.
Morikawa also posted a 62, his featuring nine birdies and an eagle.
With the winds that so often buffet the Plantation Course again largely absent, five players posted rounds of 10 under or better.
Matsuyama’s gave him a 54-hole score of 192 – one stroke better than the previous 54-hole tournament record.
Japan’s Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, got things going with a run of four straight birdies from the 3rd through the 6th. He rolled in a 58-foot birdie putt at the par-five 9th to make the turn level with Morikawa.
After birdies at the 10th and 12th he took the lead for good with a three-foot birdie at the 14th. That launched a run of three straight birdies, and Matsuyama kept the momentum with an unlikely par at 17 after his tee shot wound up on the wrong side of the cart path.
He closed with a birdie at the par-five 18th, where he muscled his second shot to the edge of the green and two-putted to maintain his advantage on Morikawa.
“Collin played well and I just kind of followed him, so good day,” said Matsuyama, who is closing in on his 20th professional win and his 11th on the PGA Tour.
Morikawa hit 12 of 15 fairways and every green in regulation. He kept the pressure on Matsuyama all the way, starting with an eight-foot birdie at the 1st.
After birdies at the 3rd and 4th he curled in a 26-foot eagle putt at the 5th and was six under for the day after a birdie at the 9th.
He added birdies at 11 and 12, and another pair at 15 and 16 before closing with a birdie at 18.
“Today was really, really good,” said Morikawa, whose six PGA Tour titles include the 2020 PGA Championship and the 2021 Open. “Couple shots out there were a little squirrely, but for the most part the irons were centre face – knew where they were going.”
His most recent win was the 2023 Zozo Championship in Japan, where he ended a near two-year title drought, and Morikawa was delighted that work he’d put in during the off-season was paying off in the opening tournament of the season.
“It’s nice to have it click together,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re immediately going to finish top 10, top five, have a chance to win. But it’s nice to be able to put it all together and shoot some scores in a tournament setting.”
Sunday promised to be another Matsuyama-Morikawa duel. Belgian Thomas Detry was four shots behind Morikawa after a 65 for 22-under 197.
South Korean Im Sungjae carded an impressive 62 to claim solo fourth on 21-under 198 while England’s Harry Hall posted a 66 for 20-under 199.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler wasn’t among the 60-strong field after hurting his hand in a Christmas Day cooking accident.
South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout was on 13 under (T29) after posting a 63 that featured an eagle with eight birdies.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
