When Hideki Matsuyama teed off the 15th green on the TPC Scottsdale on Sunday, his path to victory was clear.
The 2021 Masters champion had to birdie the final three holes on the Stadium Course to avoid a playoff with Chris Gotterup and takes home his third WM Phoenix Opin the title. That Matsuyama found himself in that position was no small feat, given how he faced the ball in the final round. He hit just two fairways, but still found a way to keep a clean sheet as he arrived at the 18th hole, still holding a one-shot lead over Gotterup.
Matsuyama had fought to keep things from unraveling all afternoon in Scottsdale, but they finally came undone on the final hole. It was a collapse that Matsuyama built the foundation for with his shaky play and that bad luck cemented.
First, he pulled his shot left into the church pew bunkers, but got a favorable shot back into the center of the bunker. Course reporter Dottie Pepper said Matsuyama should have no problem navigating the edge of the trap and getting to or close to the green. But Matsuyama’s second shot went low and clipped the edge of the bunker, sending the ball 43 yards short of the green.
A swinging chip into a firm green left him 23 feet for the first and the win.
That’s when events beyond Matsuyama’s control began to accelerate his crash.
Matsuyama increased the size of the long but doable shot. Just as he was preparing to retrieve his bearer, a member of the gallery shouted, causing him to pull back and resume his process. The first shot slipped through the hole and Matsuyama marched to a sudden-death playoff.
“I was grinding all weekend. I didn’t have my best stuff, but I hung in there,” Matsuyama said through a translator afterward. “I wanted to avoid the playoff as much as I could, but I hit a bad shot in regulation at 18.”
Matsuyama returned on the 18th tee and things continued to spiral.
After Gotterup put his car on the road, Matsuyama prepared to respond. But in the midst of his fall, a great roar pierced the desert air. Matsuyama stopped his movement, looked at the crowd and had to regroup again. When he finally let go of his driver, he sailed left again toward the church pew bunkers. The machine barely cleared the water, but the ball hit a post holding a gallery rope, sending it back into the pond. Ten minutes later, Gotterup made a birdie putt to secure his second victory of the 2026 season.
The buzz that ended Matsuyama’s breakup? An accidental chair drop by an event staff member, according to AthleticsGabby Herzig is.
Spectator video from the tee box captures the sound that caused Hideki to retire mid-swing during the playoff.
After the round, Chris Gotterup said, “I think a chair fell into the shoebox. Of course that happens in the playoffs.”
(🎥 @austin_garcia13)pic.twitter.com/m40NKmiZHP
—GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) February 9, 2026
“It’s a good thing that there are so many people,” Gotterup told the packed TPC Scottsdale crowd after he secured the playoff victory over Matsuyama. “You hear it, but it’s all — you go through so much in your brain, it’s almost like white noise. Obviously, I think in the box office, a chair fell over. Of course, that happens in the playoffs.”
A dropped chair could have put the final nail in Hideki Matsuyama’s WM Phoenix Open coffin, but he laid the groundwork for the collapse long before he hit the cement in Phoenix.
For the week, Matsuyama was ranked 70th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. He was T68 in driving accuracy, hitting just 44 percent of his fairways. But he was second in approach and third in putting. That Houdini got out of jam after jam he created with an uncooperative play off the tee. For 71 holes, Matsuyama’s clutch and putting were enough to fix a glaring weakness.
But the bill finally came on the 72nd hole, when his magic act was unable to produce a final escape, setting the stage for an accidental putt to seal his fate.
“It’s disappointing,” Matsuyama said through a translator after the loss. “Dude. Learn from him and just get on your horse next week.”
As Hideki Matsuyama digested an unimaginable collapse, Gotterup’s emotions came after a victory that lifted him to No. 5 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“There are only so many people who believe in me and can share it with them,” Gotterup said, fighting back tears. “I won’t be able to pass it up. It’s just too much fun.”
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