2024 Olympics: Hideki Matsuyama’s spectacular play leads to bronze

Hideki Matsuyama did not fall short of making the podium in his second Olympic start.

Three years ago, he came up short during a playoff for bronze in Tokyo at the 2021 Games.

Matsuyama redeemed himself by outright winning the bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Silver medalist Tommy Fleetwood and Gold medalist Scottie Scheffler finished ahead of Matsuyama.

He carded an impressive 6-under 65 to reach 17-under overall and avoid taking on the Frenchman Victor Perez in extra holes. Perez finished solo-fourth, signing for an 8-under 63 to sit at 16-under.

Matsuyama did not come to Paris seeking revenge, per Golf Digest Japan, but with a personal goal by saying, “I want to do my best to achieve better results than I did three years ago.”

Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

From the opening round to Sunday, the former Masters champion came out swinging. He went 63-68-71-65 through 72 holes. Saturday was not his best day, but Matsuyama battled back on Sunday to get on that podium.

He avoided mistakes and recorded six birdies to keep his scorecard clean. After he won, Matsuyama gave Team Japan’s head coach, Shigeki Maruyama, a high five to celebrate getting on the podium, per Golf Digest Japan.

“Maruyama has been the head coach since Rio (2016), and we couldn’t win last time (Tokyo 2021), so I’m happy we were able to win the bronze medal this time,” Matsuyama said after his round on Sunday.

Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

Matsuyama started his day at 11-under and was in fourth place. He methodically navigated the course, making four birdies on the front nine at holes 2, 4, 5, and 6. The final two circles on his card came at the par-4 10th and par-4 12th holes.

His six straight pars down the stretch were crucial as so many players jumped up the leaderboard on Sunday. Perez gave it a good run at 16-under, but it was not enough to force extra holes. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm were right there as well at 15-under.

The 32-year-old became the first male and second-ever Japanese player to win a medal in golf at the Olympic Games. He joined Mone Inami, who won silver in the women’s competition in Tokyo.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.