Hideki Matsuyama, with four wins in his previous five starts, might have arrived in Maui as the hottest player in golf, but the one guy he can’t beat is Justin Thomas.
Two weeks after the Ryder Cup, Patrick Reed was still exhausted. Going 3-0-1 over three days at Hazeltine National to help lead the US to a victory – highlighted by his emotionally charged slugfest over Rory McIlory in Sunday singles – had taken everything out of the 26-year-old. The results in Reed’s next two starts were predictable if not understandable. He finished 51st in Malaysia and T-60 the following week in China.