Matsuyama shuns LIV, commits to PGA Tour
Hideki Matsuyama said Tuesday that he was fully to playing on the US PGA Tour as he prepares to defend his title at this week's Zozo Championship in his native Japan.
Matsuyama, who became Japan's first male major winner at the US Masters last year, will face a field including Tokyo Olympic champion Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and rising South Korean Kim Joo-hyung as the US PGA Tour returns to Narashino Country Club.
Several top stars including two-time major winner Dustin Johnson and British Open champion Cameron Smith have defected from the US PGA Tour to Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which offers huge prize purses.
The PGA Tour has banned LIV golfers from competing in their events and world number 19 Matsuyama said he had no intention of joining the rebel circuit.
"I'm a member of the PGA Tour – the players who left did so because they thought it was the right thing to do, so I can't say anything about them," said the 30-year-old, who won last year's Zozo Championship title with a stunning eagle on the final hole.
"I am playing on the PGA Tour and I want to continue doing my best here."
The US PGA Tour arrived in Japan days after LIV Golf held its first $25 million event in Asia in Bangkok.
The breakaway circuit is smarting from an announcement that players competing in Bangkok and its season-ending event in Jeddah would not receive world ranking points, despite a co-sanctioning agreement with the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Tour.
The OWGR (Official World Golf Rankings) which awards points said it had been given insufficient notice and needed to conduct a review of LIV Golf's events, the latest chapter in a bitter civil war which has torn golf apart and sparked accusations of Saudi "sportswashing".
Big-hitting American Bryson DeChambeau, a LIV player, said the failure to award ranking points was "delaying the inevitable".
Matsuyama offered his sympathies to LIV players but said resolving the matter was unlikely to be easy.
"I think it's fine to award them, but I think it's difficult considering how it would be viewed by the other tours," Matsuyama said.
Norway's world number 11 Viktor Hovland said LIV players should not "just get points overnight".
"If you want to get world ranking points, you have to follow the process," he told reporters at Narashino Country Club.
"At the same time, they have some really good players over there and if some of those players drop outside the top 100 players in the world, that's not good for the world rankings either."
The $11 million Zozo Championship was established in 2019 as the first US PGA Tour tournament in Japan.
Thousands of Japanese fans turned up to watch Tiger Woods win the inaugural title for his 82nd US PGA Tour victory – equalling Sam Snead's 54-year-old record.
The tournament was held in California in 2020 because of the pandemic but returned to Japan last year in front of limited spectators.
There are no attendance restrictions this year and Matsuyama said he was looking forward to the home support.
"It's great to be back as the defending champion," he said.
"I've really been impressed the last couple of days, they were practice days but still lots of people came out and cheered us on, and I know there are going to be even more come Thursday and over the weekend.
"Hopefully I can play my best and give everyone something to root for."
- ·实干担当抓落实 多措并举促发展
- ·滨江西路附属设施即将完善
- ·“大地流彩——全国乡村文化振兴在行动”在广东省潮州市启动
- ·滨江西路附属设施即将完善
- ·Tesla Robotaxis aren't coming in August, it seems
- ·“中国社会扶贫网”上线工作全面启动啦!
- ·为挽救韩国白血病小伙生命 雅安人杨芳兵捐献造血干细胞
- ·雅康高速生态环境问题综合整治项目有序推进
- ·Ruling bloc seeks tougher sentences for deepfake sex crimes
- ·补短板战春耕!广东早稻集中化育秧面积超200万亩
- ·我市部分区县启动重污染天气橙色预警!
- ·截至10月初 全市391件单位商标到期 其中216件已失效
- ·全国土壤普查办抽验组到广东开展土壤普查质量抽验
- ·南农晨读|红樱烂漫
- ·三类惠农金融产品 看看哪一个适合你?
- ·心无旁骛治病救人 同心协力默默奉献
- ·Why Kamala Harris triggers Donald Trump so intensely.
- ·把好油烟治理关 深入推进环保工作
- ·我市部分区县启动重污染天气橙色预警!
- ·湛江3000亩马铃薯大丰收,客商云集采购忙
- ·When will Trump and Harris debate? The presidential campaigns snipe over ABC News’ rules.
- ·青少年轮滑公开赛在我市激情上演
- ·2017年雅安市“超级大乐透杯”暨雨城区第33届健康杯中老年男子篮球邀请赛举行
- ·深刻学习领会十九大精神 以目标为导向优先发展教育事业
- ·A Global Tour of Bakeries With Fascinating Histories
- ·刘守英:大湾区城乡融合与乡村振兴的六大路径