Hideki Matsuyama won the Waste Management Phoenix Open on the fourth hole of a playoff for the second straight year, outlasting Webb Simpson Sunday at TPC Scottsdale.
Matsuyama won with a 10-foot birdie putt on the same hole where the Japanese star finished off Rickie Fowler a year ago.
Through a translator, Matsuyama said the frenzied crowds in the galleries gave him the motivation.
“I mean there's nothing like it in golf, playing in front of the number of fans in the galleries this past week (was) great motivation," Matsuyama said. " I just tried to have fun with it, at the same time though keep my focus.”
The tournament drew an estimated 58,654 fans Sunday to shatter the weekly record with 655,434 set last year. A record daily crowd of nearly 205,000 packed the TPC Scottsdale grounds on Saturday.
