Hideki Matsuyama eyes unique treble of wins at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Golf

Published: 07 Mar. 2024, 16:33

Hideki Matsuyama eyes unique treble of wins at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan tees off on the 17th hole during the final round of The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club on Feb. 18 in Pacific Palisades, California. [GETTY IMAGES]

Hideki Matsuyama has already won prestigious tournaments hosted by golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. He’s now got his eyes on another big one this week.

Hideki Matsuyama reflects on Genesis win as Asia's most decorated PGA player

Winner of last month’s Genesis Invitational which is hosted by Woods, to complement his 2014 triumph at the Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, the 31-year-old enters this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard with a mission to complete a unique treble of victories.

Since Woods began hosting the Genesis Invitational in 2020, no player has won all three player-hosted tournaments on the PGA Tour. And Matsuyama hopes to change that.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now, so I hope to put myself near the top of the leaderboard at the end of the week and in a position to get another win,” said Matsuyama ahead of his appearance at Bay Hill.

“Of course playing here on the PGA Tour, this is one tournament I’ve always wanted to win but for whatever reason, this has been a place I’ve never really played well. So I’m figuring out how to overcome those issues, whether that means practicing at home or here at this course I’m not sure. It is something I’ll consider each day as we go about preparing for the week.”

The Arnold Palmer Invitational, one of eight Signature Events this season, will feel like a home game for Matsuyama as it is played in Orlando which is where the Japanese superstar is based when he is in the U.S.

He ended a two-year winless run at the Genesis Invitational three weeks ago to become the winningest Asian golfer on the PGA Tour with nine victories, breaking a tie with Korea’s K.J. Choi. He was especially delighted to return to the winner’s club as he has had to overcome a niggling neck injury which was bothering him for some time.

“Looking back, I’m obviously very excited about the win [at Genesis Invitational],” said Matsuyama who closed with a final round 62 for his latest triumph. “All the way up to the final round, I was able to get some good work in on things I was focusing on the entire week. As for my golf, the putter is still a bit shaky but it’s getting closer. I’m hitting some good shots and depending on how my short game goes around the greens may be the difference between having a high finish this week or not. This week feels like it’s not a normal tournament.”

Matsuyama will take on an elite field gathered for the $20 million showpiece at Bay Hill, which will include World No. Scottie Scheffler, second-ranked Rory McIlroy and defending champion Kurt Kitayama. Other Asian stars in the field are Korea’s Tom Kim, Kim Si-woo, An Byeong-hun and Im Sung-jae while Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan will also make his first appearance in a Signature event, having qualified through the AON Swing 5 on the back of a top-3 at the recent Mexico Open at Vidanta.

Matsuyama, who is also the 2021 Masters champion, has been dealing with a slight sore back over the past week but hopes to shake it off ahead of his 10th successive Bay Hill start in the event held in honor of 62-time PGA Tour winner, the late Arnold Palmer.

“I feel good about maintaining what I had going for me, but my back has been a bit sore the past four or five days, so that’s been a bit tough,” said Matsuyama, who holds one top-10 and three other top-25s in the tournament.

“If I can shake that off I should be able to get in some good practice, put some work in around the greens and feel better.”

BY CHUAH CHOO CHIANG [kjdsports@joongang.co.kr]