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NASSAU, Bahamas — Hideki Matsuyama ended his season the way he started it, winning the Hero World Challenge on Sunday when he closed with an 8-under 64 and then hit 9-iron to 2 feet for birdie on the first playoff hole to defeat Alex Noren.

Matsuyama, who began the year by setting a PGA Tour record to par by winning at Kapalua, holed out from 116 yards in the 10th fairway for eagle that allowed him to catch Sepp Straka, move past Scottie Scheffler and seize control at Albany Golf Club.

Noren, unable to start his year until May because of a hamstring injury, charged along the back nine and caught Matsuyama with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 64 to join him at 22-under 266 and force a playoff.

The overtime didn’t last long. Matsuyama, known for taking one hand off the club even when the shots work out fine, this time twirled the 9-iron in his hand as he watched it take aim at the flag and plop down a few feet away. Noren’s 20-foot birdie attempt slid by on the left.

“It was a perfect distance for me,” Matsuyama said. “Early on the second shot (in regulation), I missed a little to the right. I was going right at it and was able to hit a great shot.”

He won the holiday event hosted by Tiger Woods for the second time, winning in 2016.

Straka, the 54-hole leader by one shot over Scheffler, birdied the final hole for a 68 to finish alone in third. Scheffler had a slow start and a two-hole stretch early on the back nine that ruined his bid for a third straight victory at Albany Golf Club. He shot 68 and tied for fourth with U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun (65).

Matsuyama went out in 31 and suddenly was tied with Straka when he holed out for eagle.

But the tournament took shape behind him on the par-5 11th.

Scheffler, two shots out of the lead, chose to hit driver off the fairway from 291 yards away with a speck of mud on the front of his ball. It went left under a small bush. He hacked that out to a sandy area, then hit his fourth shot over the green to back portion of a bunker. Only a superb bunker shot allowed him to escape with bogey.

But then he found a bunker on the par-3 12th that led to bogey, and was five shots behind Matsuyama when the Japanese star holed a 30-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole.

Scheffler ended his season by not finishing worse than a tie for eighth in his last 16 events dating to the Houston Open the last week in March.

“It’s nice to come down here, kind of gauge where I’m at,” Scheffler said. “I definitely felt like some of the stuff I’ve been working on the last few weeks, I saw some progress here, and the stuff I was focused on in the offseason, definitely saw some progress here as well. Good place to be.”

Matsuyama now has 21 wins worldwide, and he wore his tradition yellow shirt for the final round when he started three shots off the lead. He failed to capitalize on both par 5s on the back nine, but his bogey-free round and a brilliant 9-iron in the playoff was enough for his third time received a trophy from Woods. He also won the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in 2024, hosted by Woods.

“Tiger told me to shoot 10 under today,” Matsuyama said. “I didn’t shoot 10 under, but I’m very happy to win this week.”

Before the final round of the Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods offered a specific challenge to Hideki Matsuyama: Shoot 10 under and you’ll win this thing.

Matsuyama didn’t quite get there, but he got close: Nine under par on 19 holes, a final-round 64 plus a birdie on the first playoff hole, enough to edge out Alex Noren and beat out a star-studded Hero field.

“Tiger is my idol,” Matsuyama said through a translator. “A couple years ago in L.A., we couldn’t take picture, but nine years ago was the first time able to take picture with Tiger and I wanted to
take a picture with Tiger [again]. That’s why I played well in Tiger’s event.”

Matsuyama was referring to his win at the 2024 Genesis Invitational, the other event Woods hosts, but Woods withdrew that week and wasn’t part of the winner’s ceremony. Matsuyama also won the Hero in 2016; Woods finished 15th that week and stuck around to present the trophy.

The win was Matsuyama’s first in 2025, and even though it’s unofficial by PGA Tour standards, it’s the ideal way to enter the offseason after what was, by the Japanese star’s lofty standards, a middling season.

“It was very tough season for me,” Matsuyama said. “[I talked to my] swing coach in Japan, every night and I was just able to play great.”

The fireworks came early and often for Matsuyama in the final round; he made five birdies on the front nine and then holed out from 116 yards for an eagle 2 at No. 10. Seven pars and a birdie the rest of the way was enough to get him into a playoff with Noren, who birdied 15, 16 and 18 to match him at 22 under par.

But when the two returned to 18 for the first sudden-death playoff hole, Matsuyama seized control of the tournament with a flagged 9-iron from 166 yards to three feet. When Noren’s birdie putt slid by the edge, Matsuyama finished out for birdie and the win.

A few other winners: from the Hero:

-Noren’s consolation prize: His fourth top-three finish in his last nine starts plus a Masters berth.

“Especially against players like this, I’m really proud of myself,” Noren said. “I know it may be low scoring right now, but you’ve got to hit the shots out there. Me and my caddie worked very hard this week to get it all in shape.”

-This was Sepp Straka’s first stroke-play start since August’s Tour Championship, where he finished in last place shortly after the birth of his son Thomas. Straka looked much sharper this go-round, shooting 21 under to miss a playoff by just a single shot.

“It was a really good year. It was a great year,” Straka said. “I felt like I had a lot of chances to win tournaments. Won two tournaments for the first time in a season. Yeah, very happy where my game is headed.”

-Scottie Scheffler finished T4, his 16th consecutive worldwide start where he’s finished T8 or better. He left frustrated not to three-peat at the Hero but pleased with the state of his game.

“I would say this feels more to me like the start of the year than the end of the year,” Scheffler said. “You know, I took a pretty good break after the Ryder Cup. It had been another long season, and with the season for me starting a couple weeks later this year with no Maui, I pushed it a little bit further up to this event as well, so I got a good break. It’s nice to come down here, kind of gauge where I’m at. Like I said, very optimistic, did a lot of good things. I definitely felt like some of the stuff I’ve been working on the last few weeks I saw some progress here, and the stuff I was focused on in the offseason, definitely saw some progress here as well. Good place to be.”

-J.J. Spaun finished off a career-changing season with a T4 — but I got a grin out of his firsthand Tiger Woods experience on Saturday pre-round.

“Yeah, he watched me my entire warmup yesterday, like right on my bag,” Spaun said. “We were chatting back and forth. I was just like, so nervous because I’m not used to hitting in front of him. He definitely got the first tee nerves out the way for me there on the range.

“But it was cool, like I loved coming to this tournament growing up in L.A. and just enjoy being involved with anything Tiger does. If you’re hanging around him, you’re in good company, you’re doing something right. It’s been such a fun week and an honor to be here.”

SUN CITY, South Africa — Kristoffer Reitan held on over the back nine Sunday 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, which will send him to the Masters for the first time.

The Norwegian began the final round with a five-shot lead but saw the edge 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.

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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 rankings, ensuring he will finish in the top 50 with one tournament left this year.

The top 50 earn Masters invitations.

“I don’t know what I’m feeling right now,” Reitan said. “I had a lot of nerves today. But to get it over the line in the end is a better feeling than I can describe.”

He finished at 17-under 271.

Reitan became the second European tour player Sunday who earned PGA Tour status through the Race to Dubai and won a tournament to get into the Masters. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen won the Australian Open, which came with a spot at the Masters.

Sepp Straka left the Albany Golf Course on Saturday at the Hero World Challenge a happy man.

At the 54-hole mark of the tournament hosted annually by Tiger Woods, Straka held a one-shot lead, besting a field that included World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. He also held reservations at his couch to watch the biggest football game of the year to that point: the 2025 SEC Championship game between Straka’s Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“I mean, any other team that we play against, I think the Dawgs win it,” Straka said Saturday. “But one of the last nine I think we won against Alabama, so I don’t know. It’s going to be a close game, hopefully we pull it out.”

Well, if Saturday afternoon was any indication, Straka will arrive on Sunday morning even happier. That’s because his Georgia Bulldogs pulled off an impressive win in the SEC Championship game shortly after Straka’s round ended, completing a one-loss season and solidifying a top seed in the College Football Playoff.

Now, on Sunday morning, Straka has the chance to complete a dream weekend with a victory at the Hero World Challenge, where he will share a final pairing with Scottie Scheffler.

A $1 million winner’s check for a victory at the Hero wouldn’t be Straka’s biggest paycheck of the 2025 season — his $3.6 million winner’s check at the Truist Championship in May covers those bases — but it’d be a hell of a holiday bonus to end the playing season.

And speaking of cash, the Hero World Challenge will once again hand out a purse of $5 million in 2025; you can find complete payout information, including winner’s share, below.

Hero World Challenge purse, winner’s share

1. $1 million

2. $450,000

3. $300,000

4. $250,000

5. $225,000

6. $220,000

7. $215,000

8. $210,000

9. $205,000

10. $200,000

11. $195,000

12. $190,000

13. $185,000

14. $180,000

15. $175,000

16. $170,000

17. $165,000

18. $160,000

19. $155,000

20. $150,000

The final round of the 2025 Hero World Challenge gets underway Sunday, December 6th, at Albany GC in the Bahamas. You can find full Hero World Challenge tee times for Sunday’s final round at the bottom of this post.

Featured tee time for Round 4

If you’re in the business of watching the best golfers alive, you could do worse than the first full weekend in December.

Between a thrilling finish at the Australian Open and the final round of the Hero World Challenge, the glut of the world’s top 25 players are in action.

In the Bahamas, Scottie Scheffler is looking to tie a bow on the end of another fabulous PGA Tour season with a second consecutive victory at the Hero. He’s in familiar territory: One shot back of the lead heading into Sunday.

Scheffler’s Ryder Cup opponent, Sepp Straka, sits just one shot ahead heading into Sunday afternoon. Straka is fresh off one of the best seasons of his pro career in 2025, and a victory over the World No. 1 to close out the year would be a fitting exclamation point.

Both golfers will need to fend off charges from a flurry of former major winners, including Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun.

Straka and Scheffler will share the final pairing at the Hero World Challenge on Sunday, which goes off at 12:25 p.m. ET.

You can watch the final round of the Hero World Challenge on TV via Golf Channel, which will provide coverage beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. The NBC broadcast will follow at 1:30 p.m. ET. NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports App and Peacock will offer additional streaming coverage online.

Check out the complete Round 4 tee times for the Hero World Challenge below.

Want to bet the Hero World Challenge? Sign up for Fanatics Sportsbook with code “SUBPAR” to receive a special welcome offer.

2025 Hero World Challenge tee times for Sunday: Round 4 (ET)

Tee No. 1

10:46 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Chris Gotterup
10:57 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Aaron Rai
11:08 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Brian Harman
11:19 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Akshay Bhatia
11:30 a.m. – Harris English, Keegan Bradley
11:41 a.m. – Sam Burns, Corey Conners
11:52 a.m. – Justin Rose, Cameron Young
12:03 p.m. – Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun
12:14 p.m. – Alex Noren, Hideki Matsuyama
12:25 p.m. – Sepp Straka, Scottie Scheffler

The 2025 Hero World Challenge wraps up on Sunday morning with the final round at Albany GC. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the tournament on Sunday, including full Hero World Challenge TV coverage, streaming info and Round 4 tee times.

How to watch Hero World Challenge on Sunday

The Hero World Challenge is setting up for a dramatic finish this weekend, with more than half of the field in contention at the tournament’s 54-hole mark.

Sepp Straka leads the way at 17 under par. The group includes major winners Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun, as well as Cameron Young and Akshay Bhatia.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is one shot back at 16 under par, but the top of the leaderboard is jam-packed with major-winning names and Ryder Cup mainstays.

You can watch the final round of the Hero World Challenge on TV via Golf Channel, which will provide coverage beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET on Sunday. The NBC broadcast will follow at 1:30 p.m. ET. NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports App and Peacock will offer additional streaming coverage online.

Below you will find everything you need to know to watch the final round of the 2025 Hero World Challenge.

How to watch on TV Sunday

Golf Channel will carry final-round TV coverage of the 2025 Hero World Challenge on Sunday from 11:30-1:30 p.m. ET. The NBC broadcast will follow from 1:30-4:30 p.m. ET.

How to stream online Sunday

You can stream the final round of the 2025 Hero World Challenge via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App, which will provide a live simulcast of Golf Channel’s Sunday coverage for viewers with an active cable subscription. The NBC broadcast will be available to stream on Peacock.

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2025 Hero World Challenge Round 4 tee times (ET)

Tee No. 1

10:46 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Chris Gotterup
10:57 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Aaron Rai
11:08 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Brian Harman
11:19 a.m. – Billy Horschel, Akshay Bhatia
11:30 a.m. – Harris English, Keegan Bradley
11:41 a.m. – Sam Burns, Corey Conners
11:52 a.m. – Justin Rose, Cameron Young
12:03 p.m. – Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun
12:14 p.m. – Alex Noren, Hideki Matsuyama
12:25 p.m. – Sepp Straka, Scottie Scheffler

When it comes to the World Cup, there are few more authoritative voices than Martin Tyler.

The legendary commentator has worked at every tournament since the 1974 edition in West Germany and is looking ahead to next summer’s instalment in North America.

England will head across the Atlantic looking to end what will have been a 60-year wait to lift the trophy, so how does Tyler rate Thomas Tuchel’s side’s chances – and how can the Lionesses’ recent European Championship success help their cause?

“Most England fans today weren’t alive when we won it in 1966,” Tyler tells FourFourTwo. “Winning the World Cup is a great milestone but the weight of expectation nowadays seems more like a millstone.

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Kendal Grey is heading to New Yearâ€s Evil.

The EVOLVE Women’s Champion scored the shock win at Saturday’s Deadline, moving on to face Jacy Jayne on January 6. The finish of the match had everyone in a five-way tie in the final minute. Sol Ruca hit the sol snatcher on Lola Vice outside of the ring, but was attacked by Kelani Jordan as she left the penalty box and hit a 450 splash. Jordynne Grace broke up the pin as she and Jordan brawled out of the ring. As Vice recovered, Grey launched off the top rope and hit the shades of Grey for the pinfall, putting her in the lead with three pins right at the 25 minute mark.

As Grey and Wren Sinclair celebrated, Jayne and the rest of Fatal Influence appeared on the rampway, having a staredown with the Iron Survivor Challenge winner.

After Charlie Dempsey left for Japan, he left Wren Sinclair on her own, who decided to form a friendship with EVOLVE Champion Kendal Grey. In the weeks since then, Grey has scored wins on NXT television including successfully defending the EVOLVE title against Laney Reid during the NXT Gold Rush last month.

NXT New Year’s Evil (January 6):

• NXT Championship: Oba Femi defends against TBA
• NXT Women’s Championship: Jacy Jayne defends against Kendal Grey

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Bryan Rose

Bryan Rose is an editor from California that has been covering professional wrestling for well over a decade. He officially joined F4WOnline as an editor in 2017.

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The 2025 Hero World Challenge continues on Saturday morning with the third round at Albany GC. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the tournament on Saturday, including full Hero World Challenge TV coverage, streaming info and Round 3 tee times.

How to watch Hero World Challenge on Saturday

The Hero World Challenge is setting up for a dramatic finish this weekend, with more than half of the field in contention at the tournament’s 36-hole mark.

A logjam of five players currently leads the way at 10 under par. The group includes major winners Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun, as well as Cameron Young and Akshay Bhatia.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is one shot back at nine under par, after an uncharacteristic double-bogey on the 16th hole derailed his second-round charge. There are 11 total players in the 20-man field who are within three shots of the lead.

You can watch the third round of the Hero World Challenge on TV via Golf Channel, which will provide coverage beginning at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday. The NBC broadcast will follow at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports App and Peacock will offer additional streaming coverage online.

Below you will find everything you need to know to watch the third round of the 2025 Hero World Challenge.

How to watch on TV Saturday

Golf Channel will carry third-round TV coverage of the 2025 Hero World Challenge on Saturday from 12-2:30 p.m. ET. The NBC broadcast will follow from 2:30-5 p.m. ET.

How to stream online Saturday

You can stream the third round of the 2025 Hero World Challenge via NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App, which will provide a live simulcast of Golf Channel’s Saturday coverage for viewers with an active cable subscription. The NBC broadcast will be available to stream on Peacock.

NEWSLETTER

Sign up for GOLF’s Top Stories Newsletter!

Get the latest golf news and our most-read stories delivered to your inbox daily!

SIGN UP NOW

2025 Hero World Challenge Round 3 tee times (ET)

Tee No. 1

9:21 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Chris Gotterup
9:32 a.m. – Brian Harman, Aaron Rai
9:43 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Sam Burns
9:54 a.m. – Keegan Bradley, Robert MacIntyre
10:05 a.m. – Corey Conners, Billy Horschel
10:16 a.m. – Justin Rose, Harris English
10:27 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Sepp Straka
10:38 a.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Alex Noren
10:49 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun
11:00 a.m. – Cameron Young, Hideki Matsuyama

NASSAU, Bahamas — U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun converted two of his three eagle chances, Cameron Young shot 30 on the back nine and Hideki Matsuyama was bogey-free, all of them part of another five-way tie for the lead Friday in the Hero World Challenge.

Missing from a share of the lead was Scottie Scheffler, who briefly had the lead to himself.

Scheffler holed an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th right about the time Young finally cooled off by missing an 8-foot par putt on the 18th. That put Scheffler at 11-under par for a one-shot lead that lasted all of one hole.

He pulled his tee shot on the 16th for the second straight day, this time having to take a penalty shot to get out of a palmetto bush. Then, he misjudged the trajectory of a blind shot and it clipped the top of another palmetto bush, leading to a double bogey.

Akshay Bhatia birdied the 18th for a 68 to join former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (68), Spaun (68), Matsuyama (66) and Young (64).

They were at 10-under 134 at Albany Golf Club, where nearly half of the 20-man field was separated by two shots going into the weekend.

Spaun made only five eagles all season and then seized on the scoring holes. He hit a 3-wood to 3 feet on the par-5 sixth and hit tee shot on the reachable par-4 14th settled 5 feet away, both of them eagles. He narrowly missed a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 15th.

That allowed him to recover from a pair of bogeys on the opening four holes.

“Didn’t get a great start, but salvaged a pretty decent round,” Spaun said.

Bhatia, in his final tournament before getting married, saved himself at the end with a nifty par save from short of the 16th green and then a bogey on the par-3 17th when he chipped through the green and into a bunker, blasted out and made a 15-foot putt to keep it from being worse.

He has a new caddie for this week, Joe Greiner, the longtime looper for Max Homa until earlier this year. Bhatia likes that Greiner also swings left-handed and their communication is working.

Scheffler had a 69 and was tied at 9-under 135 with Alex Noren (66) and Sepp Straka (69), with former Albany resident Justin Rose another shot back after a 68.

“I think I did some good things out there. Just a few too many mistakes, but overall still felt pretty good,” Scheffler said.

Billy Horschel had a 68 and was five shots behind. He missed most of this year after hip surgery and is the only player in the 20-man field who has not secured a spot in the Masters. Horschel is at No. 45 in the world ranking – the top 50 at the end of the year get into the Masters – and a solid finish could settle that.