At the WM Phoenix Open, playoffs have become almost expected drama, and 2026 delivered another sudden‑death finish. However, this edition will be remembered less for the extra hole itself and more for the way the familiar roles flipped: Hideki Matsuyama, usually the closer, blinked on 18, while Chris Gotterup embraced the chaos and walked through the door.
Matsuyama started Sunday with the profile of a man in control. Already a two‑time Phoenix champion, he had converted all of his previous five 54‑hole leads into wins. For most of the day his scorecard suggested composure, but his driving told a different story. He missed fairways, flirted with trouble, and then finally paid the price on the 72nd hole, tugging his tee shot left on 18 and failing to save par. He admitted afterward what everyone watching felt: “I wanted to avoid the playoff as much as I could, but I just hit a bad tee shot there in regulation at 18,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter.
Waiting in the wings was Gotterup, who had already done something far harder than hitting a single great shot: he had built an entire round on belief. He attacked TPC Scottsdale all day, piling up birdies to reel in Matsuyama and post a target. Yet even at the top events, players are never sure when, or if, that number will be enough. “You never know what to expect,” Gotterup said. “We went over to the first tee, hit a couple balls, was watching, and then all of a sudden you’re out there on 18 and everyone is going nuts and you’re like, all right, this is it.”
That line captures what made this finish different. Matsuyama was trying to avoid the playoff; Gotterup was ready to live in it. On the extra hole, that mindset gap showed up quickly. Matsuyama found trouble again off the tee, while Gotterup produced the kind of aggressive, confident golf that has started to define his rise. “I feel confident in what I’m doing and feel like I have played well enough to feel confident to be able to be in those positions,” Gotterup said. “So far, I’ve been able to capitalize on those.”
Even Scottie Scheffler, who left Scottsdale feeling he’d let a good week get away, framed the week in terms of small margins. “I played pretty well – only one round where I didn’t have my best stuff,” Scheffler said. “If I get in the house the first day a couple under par, it’s a little different story today.” His reflection underlines the theme of this Phoenix Open: in a field full of world‑class ball‑strikers, the difference was not talent but timing.
On Sunday at TPC Scottsdale, the 18th hole turned into a spotlight that exposed that timing. Matsuyama’s one bad swing arrived right on cue; Gotterup’s best ones came exactly when the lights were brightest. In a tournament built on chaos, it was those few sentences afterward that made clear how the balance of belief has shifted. Next weekend, we look forward to covering the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in our Golf category, bringing you more updates on timing, pressure, and defining moments.
