WGC Bridgestone results: Hideki Matsuyama wins with dominant course record finish

The hype for the final major of the season was already turned all the way up, but a course record-matching round for Hideki Matsuyama to win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational somehow amplifies it even more. The primary hype for the PGA Championship will focus on a Rory McIlroy vs. Jordan Spieth dynamic, with Spieth suddenly on the verge of a career slam and Rory trying to block him from getting there first on a course he’s owned in his career. Matsuyama, however, is right there with both of them at No. 3 in the world, and is now a two-time WGC winner with a record final round that served as a reminder of his outrageous tee-to-green talent.

The final round 9-under 61 from Matsuyama matches the overall course record set by Jose Maria Olazabal, Tiger Woods, and Sergio Garcia. Matsuyama was the first to do it in a final round, which became the lowest final round ever shot in a WGC win.

Matsuyama’s tee-to-green game is exceptional. There are bigger hitters, but for the total package — power and precise ballstriking — there may be no one better in the world. That’s the kind of game that thrives at Firestone, a venue which rewards length and leaves little room off the tee to get messy. You hit it long, you hit it straight, and you just keep it between the trees on a bucket full of lengthy par-4s that some critique as one of the more monotonous and boring courses on Tour. The players love it though, and Matsuyama’s game is perfect for the challenge.

The Japanese phenom has shown his ballstriking is so good that he can even win a PGA Tour event with negative strokes gained putting. That’s almost impossible on the deepest and most competitive tour in the world -- you have to at least be mediocre or neutral on the greens to get a win. But Hideki has done it, and if and when he actually does have a day with the putter, the weak link in his game, then he’s unstoppable. We got that on Sunday with the record round — his proximity to the hole made putting less important (it was an absurd average of 16 feet!) and when he needed it, the flatstick was there to convert the 61.

To add to the Hideki madness, this record round allegedly came after a horrendous range session, one that CBS analyst Dottie Pepper said was “one of the worst I’ve ever seen.” Afterwards, Hideki said he “wasn’t sure of his swing” on a day where he had just torched the entire course and one of the strongest fields of the year!

The WGCs are huge money and world ranking points events, but even with the win, Hideki is going to remain at No. 3 in the world due to Jordan Spieth’s top-20 finish. Matsuyama could very well become world No. 1 at some point, but the jostling at the top, primarily among 20-somethings, has been fantastic to watch on a weekly basis. It was appropriate that Matsuyama, on the eve of a week when the McIlroy-Spieth hype and coverage is going to suck up all the oxygen, reminded us of just how deep the game is right now.

Here are your final results from Akron: