Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama receives his trophy after winning the St. Jude Championship golf tournament on Sunday, August 18, 2024, in Memphis, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By The Associated Press

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Hideki Matsuyama gave up a five-stroke lead after four holes and responded with birdies on two of the course’s toughest holes to secure an even-par 70 and a two-stroke victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday.

The start of the PGA Tour postseason was marked by exciting moments at the top of the rankings and in deciding who would advance in the FedEx Cup and who the top 50 players would be.

Matsuyama had a five-stroke lead at the start of the day, completed 27 consecutive holes without a bogey and was five strokes ahead when he made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole.

And then it all got out of hand – a three-putt bogey on hole 12, a tee shot into the water on the par 3 14th hole and a battle for bogey, two chips to reach the 15th green for a double bogey.

And now he was only one stroke behind the stubborn Viktor Hovland, the reigning FedEx Cup champion.

Hovland, on the other hand, took a bogey from the bunker on the 17th hole and missed a birdie opportunity from 9 feet on the 18th hole for a score of 66. He shared second place with Xander Schauffele, who played bogey-free in the sweltering heat and shot 63.

Matsuyama came out of the left rough on the front of the green on hole 17 and made a birdie putt from 25 feet to take the lead, and he made another birdie on hole 18.

Matsuyama, who finished 17 under par at 263, won for the second time this year. He shot 62 in the final round to win the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Coming off a bronze medal at the Olympics, his performance was spot on, except for that terrible four-hole stretch. He won $3.6 million and moved up from eighth to third in the FedEx Cup.

It’s been quite a week for the Japanese star, who has had to find a replacement caddy and can only work with his coach by phone. Everyone was on their way home from the Paris Olympics for dinner in London when someone carelessly stole their bag.

LIV Golf League

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — Brooks Koepka earned his second LIV Golf League victory of the year when he shot 7-under-par 63 at the Greenbrier, beating Jon Rahm with a par on the first playoff hole.

Rahm, who lost a four-stroke lead on the back nine at the Olympics two weeks ago, began the third and final round with a two-stroke lead and finished with a 65. He made birdies on two of his final three holes to tie Koepka at 19 under par and 191 and force a playoff.

In the playoff on the par-3 18th hole, Rahm went over the green and into the bunker, a difficult shot that left one foot in the sand. He hit it about 25 feet and his par putt, which extended the playoff, hit the edge of the hole.

Koepka also won LIV Golf Singapore this year, his fifth career victory since the Saudi-funded league was founded in June 2022.

Koepka’s four-man Smash team won the team title by three strokes.

United States Golf Association

CHASKA, Minn. (AP) — Jose Luis Ballester, a rising senior at Arizona State, became the first player from Spain to win the U.S. Amateur, defeating Iowa sophomore Noah Kent 2-0 in the 36-hole match at Hazeltine on his 21st birthday.

Ballester, the only player in the top 10 of the world amateur rankings to reach the round of 16, took the lead on the second hole and never trailed. He is the only player from Spain, along with Jon Rahm, to win a USGA tournament. Rahm, who also played for the Sun Devils, won the 2021 US Open.

Both finalists received exemptions to play in the Masters and US Open next year, and Ballester also earned a spot in the British Open.

Kent, of Naples, Florida, started the week as an underdog at number 560 in the amateur world rankings.

LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour

IRVINE, Scotland (AP) — Lauren Coughlin used some excellent putting to win the Women’s Scottish Open at 3-under-par 69 on Sunday, her second LPGA title of the summer and a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team.

Coughlin, who won the CPKC Women’s Open in Canada three weeks ago, recovered from two early bogeys to lead Megan Khang on the front nine holes and Esther Henseleit of Germany on the back nine holes.

The 31-year-old American needed just one putt to complete the final seven holes on a chilly day on the Ayrshire coast. Coughlin finished 15 under par with a total of 273, four strokes ahead of Henseleit (70). It was Henseleit’s second consecutive runner-up finish after winning the Olympic silver medal at the Paris Games.

PGA Tour Champions

CALGARY, Alberta – Ken Tanigawa won the Rogers Charity Classic, his third victory on the PGA Tour Champions, finishing with a score of 64 (six under par) to beat Richard Green by two strokes.

After tying the Canyon Meadows record with a personal best of 61 on Saturday, the 56-year-old Tanigawa was two shots behind Green and made birdies on the par-5 15th and 17th holes to pull away.

Tanigawa finished the match at 17 under par and 193 strokes. On Saturday he managed a hole-in-one with a 5-iron on the 210-yard 16th hole.

Green, who shot 62 on Saturday, made a bogey on the par-3 14th hole and the par-4 17th hole and scored a 68. The 53-year-old Australian left-hander is winless on the 50+over tour.

Darren Clarke (65) and Jason Caron (67) tied for third place with 14 under par.

European tour

PRAGUE (AP) — Frenchman David Ravetto won his first European Tour title by shooting 8 under par to win the Czech Masters by 64 strokes.

Ravetto began the final round one stroke behind Jesper Svensson. He began with three birdies in four holes at the PGA National Oaks Prague to set the tone for the day and then made three more birdies before the turn.

Svensson was just one shot behind Ravetto until a wild tee shot on the par-5 16th hole resulted in a double bogey. Ravetto made a birdie, a three-shot swing that put him four shots ahead with two shots to play.

Ravetto finished 24 under par at 264 strokes, moving up 73 places to 30th in the Race to Dubai. Svensson’s second-place finish moved him up to third, moving him ever closer to a chance at a PGA Tour card next year.

Korn Ferry Tour

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ (AP) — Max McGreevy finished with a 3-under-par 69 to win the inaugural Magnit Championship, his second title this year on the Korn Ferry Tour.

McGreevy was tied with Will Chandler heading into the final round at Metedeconk National. He picked up two early birdies to keep up and played the rest of the match without a bogey.

Chandler was tied with the leader after a birdie on the par-3 fifth hole, but he hit two poor drives that resulted in bogeys, had two more bogeys on the back nine and caught up with two birdies when McGreevy was already too far ahead.

McGreevy finished with a 72 and tied for second place with Ricky Castillo (67) and Tim Widing (69).

Other tours

Haruka Kawasaki shot a 70 (2 under par) to win the CAT Ladies by three strokes over Ayaka Watanabe on the Japan LPGA. … Sohyun Bae closed with a 68 (4 under par) and made a birdie on the third playoff hole to win the Heaven Masters on the Korea LPGA. … Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand won the Epson Tour’s Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic in Pendleton, Oregon. She closed with a 64 (8 under par) to win by two strokes and finished the tournament at 195 strokes (21 under par). … Christofer Blomstrand shot a 65 (7 under par) to win the Vierumaki Finnish Challenge by one stroke, his first Challenge Tour title. Alexander Levy made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole to finish joint second with Mikael Lindberg. … Canadian AJ Ewart won the PGA Tour Americas’ Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open. He finished with a 67 (3 under par) for a total of 263 (17 under par) and a one-stroke lead. … Jean Hugo finished with a 70 (2 under par) to win the Vodacom Origins of Golf-Highlate Gate Mpumalanga on the Sunshine Tour by a one-stroke lead. … Keith Horne won his first Legends Tour title by finishing with a 64 (8 under par) to win the Zambia Legends Championship, three strokes ahead of Adilson da Silva.

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AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

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