{"id":1255044,"date":"2025-01-06T21:27:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T21:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/?p=1255044"},"modified":"2025-01-06T21:32:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T21:32:38","slug":"sentry-2025-hideki-matsuyama-japans-rising-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golftoday.co.uk\/sentry-2025-hideki-matsuyama-japans-rising-son\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan’s rising son"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2024 golf year focused rightful attention on the dominant play of Scottie Scheffler with his 9 wins worldwide.<\/p>\n

While the crown of men’s golf rests comfortably on the Texan’s head there is an immediate push to challenge that position from a golfer steadily climbing up the ranks.<\/p>\n

The season opening PGA Tour event at The Sentry at Hawaii’s Kapalua Plantation Course marked the third win<\/a><\/strong> in the last ten months for Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.<\/p>\n

The 2021 Masters champion was in command from start-to-finish – just two bogies over the course of 72 holes and winning by three shots over runner-up Collin Morikawa.<\/p>\n

How dominant?<\/p>\n

The 257 total marked the lowest score in relation to par for a 72-hole PGA Tour event.<\/p>\n

\"Hidekyi
(Ben Jared\/PGA TOUR)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Matsuyama displayed his exceptional ball control throughout the tournament, ranking top three in strokes gained approach, scrambling, and first in strokes gained overall as well as reaching 87% of greens in the regulation stroke.<\/p>\n

The triumph also marked Matsuyama’s 11th PGA Tour victory and pushed the 32-year-old from 6th to 5th in the world golf rankings<\/a>. The victory earned him $3.6 million.<\/p>\n

Matsuyama finished third on the 2024 PGA Tour money list with over $11 million in earnings but his play in the major events has been spotty. Since 2018 he has finished in the top ten only three times with the most significant placement when becoming Japan’s first major and Masters winner in 2021.<\/p>\n

Matsuyama is the seventh player to win both Hawaii tournaments on the PGA Tour schedule. Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003) are the only players to win both in the same year. Matsuyama will have a chance to join them this week in the Sony Open on Oahu, where he won three years ago.<\/p>\n

The issue for Hideki now is can he propel himself to a second major win in 2024 and will his emerging play in those events truly catapult him in becoming Scheffler’s main competition.<\/p>\n

Winning at Augusta propelled Hideki to rock-star status back in Japan. However, winning a single major is only truly validated when a second one is forthcoming.<\/p>\n

\"Hideki<\/p>\n

Rest assured \u2014 no one knows that better than Matsuyama. Two of the majors this year \u2014 the US Open at Oakmont and The Open Championship at Royal Portrush \u2014 were venues in which Matsuyama missed the cut when he last played there in 2016 and 2019 respectively.<\/p>\n

Japan’s national flag showcases the rising sun.<\/p>\n

How prophetic for a native son with the 2024 season off to such a fast start.<\/p>\n