Hideki Matsuyama is off to a record-breaking start to the new PGA Tour season. The Japanese star made an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole at The Sentry to break the tour's record to par.

As Hideki Matsuyama raced to an apparent victory at The Sentry, the season-opening PGA Tour event, another story was emerging: He was making a run at Cam Smith's 72-hole PGA Tour scoring record of 34 under. What follows is a live diary as it played out in Kapalua, where Matsuyama made birdie on the 72nd hole to capture his 11th PGA Tour victory.

It is not as if Matsuyama limped into the 2025 season (though he did admit Sunday evening he was getting over an illness); rather, he began this campaign coming off a 2024 in whic