Hideki Matsuyama missed his chance to become the first Japanese man to win a major when he finished in a tie for fifth at the PGA Championship on Sunday, t
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – Hideki Matsuyama missed his chance to become the first Japanese man to win a major when he finished in a tie for fifth at the PGA Championship on Sunday, three shots behind winner Justin Thomas.
Matsuyama, who went into the final round one shot off the pace, finished with a 5-under 279 total at Quail Hollow, with a wild three-birdie, five-bogey final nine ending his charge.
He closed the tournament with a 1-over round, as errors, including finding the water with his drive on 18, cost him the chance to challenge Thomas who won his first career major and fourth tournament of the season.
“I have to work on my mental game. I had a feeling I’ d play better than I did yesterday but it took some time to find my rhythm, ” said Matsuyama.
“I want to learn from this experience, but I don’ t know what it is that I have to do in order to win. I want to be the kind of player who can win, ” he said.
Matsuyama opened his round with a par, but in a sign of things to come, dropped a shot on the second after a poor chip left him too much to do with the short stick. He settled his nerves with three straight pars before birdies at the sixth and seventh put him in a tie for the lead at 7-under.
Overnight leader Kevin Kisner’s fall began on the seventh when he sliced into the water, leaving Matsuyama alone at the top. He went to 8-under with a long putt on the 10th but fell back into a four-way tie for the lead with a short missed par putt on the next hole.
