Remarkably, Matsuyama held onto the one-stroke lead he carried into Sunday all the way to the final hole, despite hitting just three fairways all day.

All the two-time WM Phoenix Open champion had to do was par the final hole to join the elite company of 3-time winners. Another missed fairway, and a long par putt missed entered breakout Chris Gotterup into the conversation.

Gotterup was five back of the lead after bogeying hole 12. “Catching fire” would be an understatement with how he ended his round, birdying five of the last six holes to finish at 16-under and waiting on the driving range for a chance of a playoff. 

“I knew I needed to make birdie on 18, but you never really know how it’s going to play out. Hideki was playing great, and while 17 is birdieable, there’s also a lot of danger out there. I just tried to stay loose,” Gotterup said. “Honestly, I didn’t expect this to happen, especially after Friday and Saturday, but here we are.”

The 18th-hole playoff between Matsuyama and Gotterup was decided on the tee box. Gotterup set the tone, launching a 349-yard bomb in the middle of the fairway. Matsuyuma followed by sinking one in the water, leaving Gotterup in the driver's seat.

Dramatically, Gotterup drilled the 27-foot birdie putt for the win and lit up the notorious People’s Open crowd. The now 4-time PGA Tour winner was emotional in his post-win interview, recalling his loved ones.

“My girlfriend’s here … she’s always joked that I’ve won three times without her … and she finally got to see one in person,” Gotterup said. “I know everyone at home is watching too, and it just means so much. It’s really special.”

Matsuyama battled his swing throughout the final round, struggling off the tee all week. He ranked 70th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off -the-tee for the tournament.

“I battled all weekend. I didn’t have my best stuff, but I stayed patient and kept myself in it. I really wanted to avoid a playoff, but I hit a poor tee shot on 18 in regulation. Chris made a great putt in the playoff, so credit to him,” Matsuyuma said.

Matsuyama could’ve joined the aforementioned three-time Phoenix Open winner club, including golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson. 

“It’s disappointing and still a bit of a shock. I’ll learn from it and move forward, then get back to work next week,” Matsuyuma said.

Gotterup set the early pace as the clubhouse leader after an opening-round 8-under. The Oklahoma native cooled off with rounds of 71 and 70 over the next two days, leaving him four shots back heading into championship Sunday.

To put into perspective Gotterup’s breakout start to the season, only Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have more wins than Gotterup in the last three PGA Tour seasons. Gotterup opened the season with a victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii, continuing the momentum from last year when he won the Genesis Scottish Open and posted a personal best at a major with a third-place finish at The Open.

Gotterup talked about how he always shows up when the lights are brightest.

“A lot of hard work, honestly,” Gotterup said. “There are so many people who believe in me, and being able to share moments like this with them is overwhelming. It’s emotional, but it’s also just so much fun.”

Two other contenders made threats to the lead late on Sunday, Michael Thorbjornsen and Scheffler. Thorbjornsen notably had the lead for one hole after eagling hole 15. 

The 2024 No. 1 PGA Tour University golfer held a solo lead with three holes to play but faltered with bogeys on the iconic 16th stadium hole and the challenging par-4 17th.

“I don’t feel like I failed out there … I’m just learning,” Thorbjornsen said.  “I was leading after 69 or 70 holes, whatever it was, and we’re inching closer and closer. It’ll happen at some point.”

Scheffler finished one off the playoff total, birdying 4 of the last 6 holes, trying to make a remarkable comeback after being five shots off the lead before the day started.

“It’s more about the position I put myself in after the first round this week. Over the last three days, I played really solid golf. I did what I could today,” Scheffler said.

The 2026 Waste Management Phoenix Open had almost everything, a packed final round leaderboard, an electric playoff finish, but still was missing the highly anticipated 16th hole hole-in-one.