Matsuyama rallies to win in the Bahamas. Neergaard-Petersen and Reitan earn Masters spots with wins

By Canadian Press on December 7, 2025.

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Hideki Matsuyama holed out from the 10th fairway for eagle on his way to an 8-under 64 and stuffed his 9-iron to 2 feet on the 18th hole in a playoff to defeat Alex Noren and win the Hero World Challenge for the second time.

Noren also shot a 64, making an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation to force a playoff. His 20-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole missed to the left.

Scottie Scheffler, going for a third straight title at Albany Golf Club, fell back on the par-5 11th when he hit driver off the fairway with a speck of mud on his golf ball. It led to a bogey and he never caught up. Scheffler shot 68 and tied for fourth. Sepp Straka also made bogey on the 11th to fall out of the lead. He also shot 68 to finish third.

Matsuyama won the first tournament of the year in Hawaii and the final tournament of his season in the Bahamas.

PGA Tour of Australasia and European tour

MELBOURNE, Australian (AP) — Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen won the Australian Open and earned a spot in the Masters when he scrambled for par on the final hole for a 1-under 70 to crush the hopes of home favorite Cam Smith, who missed a 5-foot par putt to force a playoff.

Smith and Neergaard-Petersen came to the 72nd hole tied at 15-under par. The Dane went after the right pin and it faded beyond the bunker into difficult rough. He did well to flop that to 10 feet.

Smith found the green but faced a long, sloping putt to the hole that he ran some 5 feet by the hole. Neergaard-Petersen holed his par putt, and Smith missed his to the left in his bid to win for the first time in more than two years.

Si Woo Kim (70) finished third, followed by Michael Hollick of South Africa (65) and former Masters champion Adam Scott (70). All three earned spots in next year’s British Open.

Sunshine Tour and European tour

SUN CITY, South Africa (AP) — Kristoffer Reitan of Norway held on over the back nine and closed with an even-par 72 to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, his second European tour title of the year that will send him to the Masters for the first time.

Reitan began the final round with a five-shot lead, but he saw the lead shrink to a single stroke when he played the back nine without a birdie. He held his nerve against Jayden Schaper of South Africa (68) and Dan Bradbury of England (66) for a one-shot victory.

Reitan, who earned a PGA Tour card for 2026 by finishing eighth in the Race to Dubai, also won the Soudal Open. His second victory moves him just outside the top 30 in the world ranking, assuring he will finish in the top 50 with one tournament left this year.

PGA Tour Champions

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Colin Montgomerie set the tone in the leadoff singles matches and Bernhard Langer and Soren Kjeldsen finished off a European tour victory in the Skechers World Champions Cup over the American and International teams.

Europe finished with 230 points over three days of nine-hole matches. The International team had 213.5 points, while the Americans managed 204.5 points as the defending champions.

Montgomerie, who never lost a singles match in his Ryder Cup career, earned 10.5 points in the opening match that allowed Europe to expand the lead it build after two days of nine-hole matches in modified alternate shot and better ball at Feather Sound.

Kjeldsen and Langer each won 12 points out of a possible 18 points in the last two singles matches.

Other tours

Takashi Ogiso closed with a 5-under 65 to win the season-ending Golf Nippon Series JT Cup on the Japan Golf Tour. Kota Kaneko tied for seventh to claim the tour’s money title. … Greg Owen lost a five-shot lead on the back and then birdied the 18th hole for a 7-under 65 and a one-shot victory in the MCB Mauritius Legends for his first European Legends Tour title.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Associated Press