Take your conspiracy theories back to X.
CBS discussed Hideki Matsuyama’s chip shot on the 17th hole during the final round of the Genesis Invitational on Sunday as questions were being asked about it on social media.
The slow motion replay of the shot showed Matsuyama’s ball shifting slightly as he addressed the ball.
He proceeded to hit a delicate downhill chip to 3 feet to set up his ninth birdie of the round on his way to a stunning comeback victory at Riviera.
CBS’ play-by-play man Jim Nantz seemed happy to put the so-called controversy to rest.
“(They’re) playing a game of gotcha they think with Matsuyama behind the 17th a moment ago saying, ‘That ball moved. This isn’t right.’ Let’s bring in (rules analyst Mark Dusbabek) for some reasoning here,” Nantz said.
Dusbabek clarified exactly what happened and why it wasn’t a penalty for the Masters champ.
“The ball did not move,” Dusbabek said. “The ball just shifted a little bit, but it stayed in the same position. The ball has to move to a different position, whether up, down, to the side, it doesn’t matter. It just didn’t move its position.”
The up-and-down birdie on that par 5 was the last highlight on a brilliant final round 62 that saw Matsuyama break away from a congested leaderboard for a three-shot win that wrapped up the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing.
“Go find someone else to pick on,” Nantz said in a final message to those questioning Matsuyama on social media.
It was Matsuyama’s first PGA Tour victory since the Zozo Championship in 2022 and his first victory in the US since capturing The Masters in 2021.
“Reaching nine wins was one of my big goals, passing K.J. Choi,” Matsuyama told reporters afterward. “After my eighth win, I’ve been struggling with my back injury. There were a lot of times where I felt I was never going to win again. I struggled reaching to top 10, but I’m really happy that I was able to win today.”
The tournament included an actual rules controversy when Jordan Spieth was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard on Friday.
