Comparing the putters of Hideki Matsuyama and his hero, Tiger Woods

]

Hideki Matsuyama won last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii in emphatic style, knocking a 3-wood to 3 feet to win a playoff with Russell Henley. That club may have produced the winning shot, but the putter was Matsuyama’s most important club at Waialae.

Matsuyama led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting en route to his second win of the season. The shortest club in the bag often befuddles Matsuyama, keeping him from capitalizing on his tremendous ballstriking. Last week was an exception, though.

Matsuyama’s hot putting week inspired us to take a closer look at that club. Despite his struggles on the greens, and propensity to experiment, he is mostly loyal to one putter. Like many players his age, Matsuyama was inspired by Tiger Woods and Matsuyama’s flat stick, and his propensity to stick with it, is similar to Woods.

At first glance, the Scotty Cameron GSS putters that Matsuyama and Woods use are quite similar. If you can’t tell the difference, we don’t blame you. They’re both Scotty Cameron Newport 2 models, they’re both made from high-end German stainless steel and they both have the players’ names stamped on the back bumpers.

Both putters have a winning history, too.

Scotty Cameron tour rep Drew Page said Matsuyama has used the Timeless Newport 2 GSS 350-gram putter for seven of his eight PGA TOUR victories (his Masters victory is the lone exception). The putter’s first win came at the 2014 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, and the most recent was at last week’s Sony Open.

Woods’ Newport 2 GSS putter , even more impressively, has been in the bag for 14 of his 15 major championship victories (minus the 1997 Masters). The putter’s first major win came at the 1999 PGA Championship, and most recently was used by Woods in his win at the 2019 Masters.

A closer look at both putters, however, shows a few subtle differences, aside from merely cosmetics.

Hideki Matsuyama hits the most OUTRAGEOUS flop shot of the PGA Tour season!

]

Sign up for our daily newsletter! By signing up to the newsletter you agree to receive emails from golfmagic.com that may occasionally include promotional content

Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama holed the greatest flop shot of the PGA Tour season so far on day two at the Sony Open.

Matsuyama was in the deep rough left of the green some 100 feet away from the pin at the par-4 6th.

An up and down for par seemed the best possible result but the Japanese star had other ideas as he brought out his inner Phil Mickelson.

Matsuyama went straight upstairs with his lob wedge and judged the slope beautifully to hole out for a birdie-three.

WATCH HIDEKI’S INCREDIBLE HOLE-OUT FLOP SHOT BELOW

Matsuyama hit one of the funniest shots of the first round when he took one hand off the club at impact, only for the ball to end up 11 feet away. He would then drain the putt for birdie - WATCH HERE

The seven-time PGA Tour winner is looking to chase down Russell Henley in the second round at Waialae.

Henley, who won his maiden PGA Tour title at the 2013 Sony Open, has fired rounds of 62 and 63 so far this week as he looks down on the rest of the field at 15-under par.

The American incredibly played his final six holes in 6-under par, and he also eagled both of the par-5s at 9 and 18.

Presidents Cup stars Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama begin 2022 in style

]

Johannesburg - The Presidents Cup may only be in September, but the international team will be brimming with confidence after their players won the first two events on the US PGA Tour of 2022. Australian Cameron Smith won the Tournament of Champions two weeks ago in Hawaii, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama triumphed at the Sony Open, also in Hawaii, over the weekend.

Smith with his victory, set a new US PGA Tour scoring record of 34-under courtesy of rounds of 65 64 64 65 on the par-73 layout. The previous record of 31-under on the PGA Tour was held by another international star - Ernie Els of South Africa. Els was a top performer in The Presidents Cup and famously went head-to-head with American sensation Tiger Woods in 2003 at The Links at Fancourt in a playoff, when the trophy was shared between the two sides as the duo could not be separated when darkness descended. Els also captained the Internationals in 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. Matsuyama won in Hawaii, beating American Russell Henley in a playoff to take the title. The win meant Matsuyama rose eight spots in the world rankings to 10th, as he rounds into form ahead of his title defence at The Masters in April.

The Presidents Cup team will be comprised of the top eight players on the International Team points list, with captain Trevor Immelman then making four special selections to complete his 12-player team.

Smith currently tops the International team rankings, followed by Matsuyama. South Korea’s Sungjae Im is third, with SA’s Louis Oosthuizen fourth. Another up-and-coming player is SA’s Erik van Rooyen. After consecutive top-25 finishes in the two PGA Tour events in Hawaii, the 31-year-old holds seventh position on the International Team standings after narrowly missing out on selection for the 2019 event. The current form of the International team’s top players is an encouraging sign in the matchplay competition that has been dominated by the United States of America. Since the Presidents Cup began in 1994, the USA has won 11 events, lost one and tied one.

Monday Finish: 87-yard drives, a caddie surprise and a laser beam 3-wood

]

Monday Finish: 87-yard drives, a caddie surprise and a laser beam 3-wood

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share by Email

The Hawaiian swing wrapped up in style at Waialae. Getty Images

Welcome back to the Monday Finish, where scenic broadcast shots have us looking at timeshares in Hawaii — and surfing lessons, too. But first, to the golf:

THE BEST THING I SAW THIS WEEK

A walk-off.

The greatest golf shot of 2022 to this point is unquestionably Hideki Matsuyama‘s playoff 3-wood, and it’s going to be damn hard to unseat from that position.

Do you remember a few years ago when Brandel Chamblee tried making the case that Dustin Johnson‘s 400-yard tee shot that nearly rolled in the hole was the greatest golf shot of all time? (He was obviously wrong, but) Matsuyama’s was much better. From 277 yards, he sent a laserbeam 3-wood into the stratosphere, 131 feet high, and if we believe the broadcast, he hit 177 mph ball speed off the deck with 3-wood, too. That would actually exceed his season-long average with driver (172.7 mph). Full send.

UNREAL SHOT. 😳

Hideki delivers a beauty from 277 yards out on the first playoff hole! pic.twitter.com/qT8ByiAVrm — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 17, 2022

Whatever the ball speed, Matsuyama’s Srixon landed like a marble in jello and plopped to a stop less than three feet from the hole, ensuring that he wouldn’t just win the sudden-death playoff but that he would do so with an eagle 3, half the strokes required by his opponent Russell Henley, who eventually made 6.

Part of the appeal of amateur golfers watching professional golfer is that the guys at home can hit plenty of the shots they see on TV — just not quite as frequently. But then there are occasional shots so heroic you wouldn’t dream of matching them, like a 277-yard fairway wood that you planned to fly about 272 and then yank it to a dead halt.

A quick aside: Listen to the Drop Zone!

WINNERS

Who won the week?

HIDEKI MATSUYAMA’S SENSE OF HUMOR

Because most of what we hear from Hideki Matsuyama comes through a translator, it’s tough to know for sure. But it definitely seems as though Matsuyama, inscrutable for years, is loosening up a bit behind the mic. And while I was curious what Japanese phrase he uttered on Friday turned into translator Bob Turner saying “that’s a tough row to hoe when you’re that far back,” I was even more tickled by with the grin he elicited when asked about serving IHOP at his Masters Champion’s Dinner. And best of all came the final line of his presser:

“I’ll have my share of sake tonight and we’ll see you all in San Diego at Torrey Pines.”

Well said. And well-earned. Matsuyama has a green jacket now. He has won the Zozo, a PGA Tour event in his home country. He has won eight Tour events, climbed back into the top 10 in the world. He acknowledged his life has changed.

“It [is] because the pressure of not winning a major has been gone,” he said. That seems to be a good feeling.

THOSE TREES LEFT OF 18

If you were watching the 72nd hole of competition you likely saw Matsuyama tee his ball up in an interesting spot on 18 and then rip a high draw over the corner of the dogleg.

This teeing position gives me anxiety. pic.twitter.com/jE4FDx1gQe — Sean Zak (@Sean_Zak) January 17, 2022

Why send my coworker Sean and thousands of viewers into momentary anxiety? Because the trees left of 18 are uniquely suited to making Tour pros look like morons. Every year players look to cut the corner, and every year a few of ’em hit the trees instead, doinking off to somewhere embarrassing from which they’ll hit their second shot. Last year’s crop included a ricochet shot from MJ Daffue that went just 63 yards from the tee. This year, six tee shots failed to travel 200 yards, including the following:

Stephen Jaeger: 174 yards, second round, par

Tom Hoge, 160 yards, second round, bogey

Kyle Stanley, 157 yards, final round, par

Garrett Okamura, 142 yards, second round, bogey

Jimmy Walker, 103 yards, final round, bogey

Harry Higgs, 87 yards, second round, par

You can see ’em indicated by the arrows below:

The trees left of the 18th tee can wreak havoc. ShotLink

Sure, the yellow dots (eagles) are impressive, and the red dots (birdies) aren’t so bad either. But I’m much more fascinated by that blue dot nearest the tee is Higgs’ 87-yarder. It’s worth noting that both Jaeger and Hoge hit the fairway. And it’s worth noting that in golf, the irrelevant little details are often the funniest.

ALMOST-WINNERS

They get moral victories, though. And money.

RUSSELL HENLEY’S LIP-OUT

It’s actually tough to be much closer to winning without actually winning than Russell Henley was on Sunday. His bid for a winning birdie at No. 18 was hit with proper pace and was tracking on a good line before it wiggled to the right, caught an edge of the cup and just spun out on the far side, leaving a tap-in par and a playoff. That’s where he would find himself on the receiving end of Matsuyama’s 73rd-hole eagle.

Henley’s birdie putt to win on 18 just skims the outside edge. pic.twitter.com/sGqKgjZ4i7 — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 17, 2022

“I’m really still scratching my head on how I missed that. It was really close to going in,” Henley said afterwards. “I was close to getting a win. So, tough to swallow, but Hideki played great all day and I’m happy for him.”

Henley earned $817,500 for his heartbreak and moved to a career-best No. 40 in the world, though. Solid consolation prizes.

THE WORLD’S BEST AMATEUR

Top-ranked am Keita Nakajima received an exemption into the event and made it clear he has the game to compete when he opened 67-64 to sit on the first page of the leaderboard. He faded with a Saturday 72 but shot 67 on Sunday and finished an exceedingly respectable 41st. And then he got to enjoy the final holes of his golfing hero, Matsuyama, chasing down the lead. His plans post-round:

“I will practice then watch Hideki Matsuyama,” he said. That’s a nice Sunday. Next up: Masters prep. Nakajima is already in at Augusta.

THE RETIRED CADDIE

Tim Tucker — of Bryson DeChambeau fame — was on the bag for Canadian up-and-comer Adam Svensson this week. It went quite well; Svensson logged a career-best Tour finish of T7. Tucker is reportedly on a two-week trial; time will tell if this is a temporary thing or if he has decided the full-time looper life is calling after a few months away. So far, so good.

THE FORMER PRODIGY

The last time Haotong Li made a cut on the PGA Tour he held a two-shot lead at the 2020 PGA Championship and went viral when he stayed more than five hours after his round, hitting balls. Then he fell off the map, missing more than a dozen cuts in a row and sliding from No. 32 in the world to the edge of the top 500.

But this week he seemed every bit the player who qualified sixth for the International Presidents Cup team in 2019; he was near the lead for 36 holes and hung in there on the weekend. Needing birdie at No. 18 for any chance at a top 10, he flagged a short-iron to kick-in range to post 15 under. While that wasn’t quite good enough to earn another start next week — he finished T12 — it’s a massive step in the right direction.

NOT-WINNERS

Not this week.

THE TWITTER BEEFERS

I admire persistence, so I’m impressed with Grayson Murray‘s relentless ability to keep logging onto Twitter and stepping on rakes. And this weekend’s opening salvo with Kevin Na was mostly in good fun — Murray hopping on the Na-plays-slow train, Na coming back over the top with a big-time ouchie:

All good, right? But with golf beefs we can never seem to leave well enough alone, and so Murray came back with some tough-guy stuff:

he wouldn’t though 😂 — Grayson Murray (@GraysonMurray) January 15, 2022

And kept the jabs coming, while Na took a victory lap on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, where he crowed that even notorious Twitter dunker Brooks Koepka hit him up with praise.

Kevin Na dunked on Grayson Murray after Murray chirped at him on Twitter last week. He told Colt and Drew that his tweet impressed fellow pros like superstar and Twitter master Brooks Koepka.@kevinna915 | @BKoepka | @ColtKnost | @thesleezyman | pic.twitter.com/g27fwVpvx4 — SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) January 17, 2022

Rule No. 1 of making Twitter jokes: Don’t brag about your Twitter jokes. Here’s what Na said:

“It was amazing how many players and caddies came up to me and complimented me, not on my round, about my tweet. I’ve had some big boys telling me how good it was. Even Brooks messaged me — Brooks Koepka messaged me saying how good of a tweet that was.

“Somebody mentioned oh, is this [like] the duel you had with Bryson and Brooks? First of all, [Murray’s] not even on Tour. You have to be somebody to make this worthwhile or make money out of this match. I mean, I can barely create a buzz — barely. I’m not a major-winner. I’m just a maybe above-average player on Tour. And who’s this guy? Nobody cares. That’s the sad part.”

I get it. Na logged an online W. He was excited and we appreciate his good humor and his honesty. But the updated power rankings of this beef are as follows:

3. Murray

4. Na

5. Neither

No further updates necessary. We hope.

NEWS FROM SEATTLE

Monday Finish HQ.

One thing I’ve noticed about Seattle is that everyone seems to have the exact same winter threshold for what is considered “good weather.” Yes, there’s a hearty baseline of dog-walkers and determined runners who will take to the streets in cold and rain and sleet and whatever else. But when the sun appears, even if it’s only 42 degrees, the entire city seems to declare it emergency activity time and heads outdoors. That means golf courses get mobbed. But it means contagious good vibes, too. We’ve got a few sunny days in the forecast ahead. I’m fired up!

WHAT’S NEXT

Three things to watch this week.

1. MATTHEW WOLFF’S RETURN

After a rollercoaster year, Wolff finished 2021 on a hot streak with four consecutive top-20s (including a runner-up). He’s been putting in some wild work with coach George Gankas. More good times ahead?

2. ACTION IN ABU DHABI

Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy headline the field in Abu Dhabi this week for the HSBC Championship, a compelling event that also includes Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and … Bearded Adam Scott.

Just in: Adam Scott has entered his Dustin Johnson era pic.twitter.com/Qw0IJ9Mt4D — claire rogers (@kclairerogers) January 17, 2022

3. THE LPGA IS BACK

It’s the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and oh what a vacation! The LPGA season is kicking off in Orlando with most of its biggest names in attendance including Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko, Inbee Park, Danielle Kang and Michelle Wie West.

We broke down the upcoming season (plus the inside scoop on Netflix’s PGA Tour show) on the Drop Zone below. Have a listen and we’ll see you next week!

Sony Open 2022 picks: Steer clear of Hideki Matsuyama

]

About our experts

Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, owner of the Mayo Media Network and host of The Pat Mayo Experience. (Subscribe for video or audio. Mayo (@ThePME) won the 2020 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and Golf Writer of the Year awards, along with the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Best Sports Betting Analyst award, and was finalist for four FSWA Awards in 2020 (Best Podcast, Best Video, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 21 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are third-most all-time. Mayo is on the board of governors at www.fantasynational.com.

Brandon Gdula, managing editor and analyst for NumberFire, a FanDuel daily-fantasy analysis company, recently won the 2018 fantasy sports-writers association Golf Writer of the Year (congrats, Brandon!). Gdula also co-hosts the DFS Heat Check podcast.

Rick Gehman is the founder of RickRunGood.com and the RickRunGood YouTube Channel, is one of the industry’s leading experts on golf DFS and gambling. Gehman is co-host of the First Cut Podcast and appears regularly on the Pat Mayo Experience golf podcasts. Follow him on Twitter: @RickRunGood.

Lee Alldrick of FanShare Sports started out writing an article highlighting the best bargain plays for fantasy golf under his twitter handle @DKGolfBargains. His success at this prompted FanShare Sports to enlist him as a guest writer, which evolved into him writing the weekly Under The Radar article. As a U.K.-based expert, Alldrick’s insight into European Tour regulars and low priced, low owned plays has provided an invaluable edge for readers when it comes to DFS GPPs.