Cantlay, Schauffele were in final group Sunday, then Hideki Matsuyama blew by the field | D'Angelo

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The plan was working so well for these besties.

Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele became such close friends since playing together at the 2019 Presidents Cup in Australia that Schauffele moved to Jupiter a year ago so they could be closer. He was the best man in Cantlay's wedding that took place in Rome the day after the Ryder Cup.

Now, after all those practice rounds and pairings in Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups, they were working on the perfect Hollywood script at the Genesis Invitational, together in Sunday's final pairing. One of them had to win, right?

But then along came one of Japan's national heroes who at one time reached No. 2 in the world but because of recent injuries entered the weekend at No. 55, his lowest ranking in more than a decade.

Hideki Matsuyama started Sunday six shots off the lead and admitted he believed he had no chance of winning when he arrived at Riviera Country Club, mainly because he was not striking his irons very well.

That was before an historic round, shooting a 62 and finishing with a 17-under 267.

Matsuyama sealed his ninth PGA Tour win and first since the 2022 Sony Open with a stunning display of golf that saw him with three different stretches of three consecutive birdies: holes 1-3, holes 10-12, holes 15-17.

"I wasn't striking the ball really well, my chipping and putting were working really well this week," Matsuyama said through an interpreter. "Especially that second shot on 15, one of my best shots of the week."

Ah, yes, the 15th. The hole that started that final stunning stretch and allowed Matsuyama to pull away in an event that at one time on the back nine saw five players tied at the top.

Trailing Will Zalatoris by one shot, Matsuyama stuck his approach shot, a 6-iron, from 189 yards and into the wind to eight inches from the hole. The birdie caught Zalatoris for the lead. His next shot from the tee box on the 160-yard par-3 No. 16 upstaged his approach at 15, coming within six inches. Both shots looked identical in the way they rolled to the pin.

That birdie gave Matsuyama the lead for good.

Matsuyama was on such a roll that after hitting his tee shot on No. 17 he immediately went to pick up his tee and never watched the ball land in a perfect spot 316 yards down the fairway. Three straight birdies, again, for a two-shot lead over Zalatoris.

Even his par on 18 was riveting, with his birdie putt from 50 feet having the gallery on its feet as it just slid past the hole. That would have tied the course record of 61.

Matsuyama came from so far behind that when he finished six golfers remained on the course.

How dominated was that back nine 30? The average score on the back nine Sunday was just under 38. When Luke List bogeyed No. 12, five players were tied for the lead, including Matsuyama.

Luke List, Will Zalatoris tie for second, three shots behind Matsuyama

In the end, List and Zalatoris tied for second, three shots behind Matsuyama. Cantlay and Schauffele, also in that group, tied for fourth, along with Adam Hadwin, four behind.

The first Japanese golfer to win a major now becomes the first Japanese golfer to win Genesis.

Matsuyama's win was recognized by his peers, but the best message came from Jordan Spieth.

"Great playing Hideki! Just make sure you double check that scorecard," Spieth wrote.

Spieth was disqualified Friday for signing an incorrect scorecard.

Meanwhile, the Jupiter Boys never found consistency. Cantlay, who had a five-shot lead after 36 holes, had his worst round of the tournament with a 72. Schauffele equaled his high round with a 70.

The two Southern California natives had by far the largest gallery, which included USC football coach Lincoln Riley.

Cantlay was working just for pars. He had nine straight before a difficult 10th hole in which he went from bunker, to bunker, to fringe and settled for a bogey, falling into fourth place.

As for Schauffele, he could not stand to watch his friend struggle so he joined, playing the front nine in 1-over after missing the fairway on No. 5 and putting his second shot in the bunker.

The two were so connected that on the seventh hole Schauffele hit his tee shot 270 yards, Cantlay 269 yards and they landed within about a foot of each other in the bunker. And both bogeyed No. 13.

Matsuyama's inconsistency of late was a result of injuries. He has dealt with a bad back and in August, Matsuyama withdrew from the BMW Championship before starting his second round because of a neck injury.

That left him out of the Tour Championship, snapping his streak of nine consecutive years in the FedEx Cup playoff finale, the longest active streak of any player on Tour.

Pain-free weekend for Matsuyama helped his cause

Matsuyama said he played this weekend pain free.

"Ever since that injury (in 2022) I was worried every week something bad might happen to my back," he said before adding he had "no issues" this weekend and was playing "without any worries."

Matsuyama said there were times he felt he was not going to win again after that original injury.

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Matsuyama cemented his spot as a national hero winning the 2021 Masters and has added to it. His victory at Genesis makes him the all-time winningest Asian player on the PGA Tour.

While golf falls in someplace behind baseball and soccer among Japan's most popular sports, Matsuyama ranks among its more popular athletes along with baseball players Ohtani Shohei and Suzuki Ichiro, figure skater Hanyu Yuzuru and boxer Inoue Naoya.

Now that he's pain free and playing his best golf in two years, Matsuyama could rise to the top spot with another win at Augusta in two months.

Tom D'Angelo is a sports columnist and reporter at The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com. Follow him on social media @tomdangelo44.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hideki Matsuyama shoots historic 62 to win Genesis Invitational