[PHOTO: Getty Images]
A bearded Hideki Matsuyama may well be the best version of Hideki Matsuyama that the golf world needs.
The Japanese superstar enters this week’s US Open, the year’s third major, at the prestigious Los Angeles Country Club with his facial hair on full display for a fourth successive tournament that bookmakers may well start running betting odds as to how long the beard will remain.
Already cemented in golf’s folklore as Japan’s first male major champion when he triumphed at the 2021 Masters Tournament, Matsuyama recently displayed a lighter side of his personality that may well unlock his quest for more major silverware.
The 31-year-old was smiling and laughing during the Memorial Tournament when quizzed about his new look. The responses were rather refreshing as Matsuyama is known for his stoic demeanour when fronting the media that perhaps, he has learned that all work and no play makes Jack, or in this case, Hideki, a dull boy.
“I don’t know why I let it grow out, but then everybody says, ‘Man, it looks really good.’ So I guess it might be here to stay,” Matsuyama explained with a grin through his interpreter.
And what’s the best part about having a beard? “I don’t have to shave it,” he laughed.
American golf writers were amused by Matsuyama’s easy-going nature as the Japanese prepares for his 11th successive appearance at the US Open in the company of two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka and reigning FedExCup winner Rory McIlroy in the opening two rounds.
He has three top-10s, missed only one cut, and finished fourth at The Country Club after closing with a glorious 65 to finish three behind champion Matt Fitzpatrick last year. In 2017, Matsuyama posted a career-best tie for second at Erin Hills, and it was achieved during a highly successful season in which he won three times and rose to a career-high No.2 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Coincidently, that was also the year when Matsuyama was probably the happiest in his personal life as he had tied the knot and become a father, which no one had an inkling about until he stunned a bewildered Japanese press corps with the announcement from out of the blue.
“No one really asked me if I was married, so I didn’t have to answer that question,” he said.
A nagging back and neck injury, however, has since proven to be bothersome for Matsuyama that it has stopped him from living up to his reputation as one of the hardest workers on the range. He has withdrawn from a handful of tournaments since picking up the injury at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2022 and has tinkered with his game and practice regime to avoid further aggravation.
Matsuyama’s most recent victory came in January 2022 when he won the Sony Open in Hawaii to tie K.J. Choi as the Asian golfer with the most wins at eight titles, but in recent months, he has shown glimpses of his best form again by finishing no lower than T-29 in his past six strokeplay starts, including a fifth at the Players Championship in March.
“It’s been a tough spell. I had an injury on my neck. Distance is down from where it was. But I’m working through it and hopefully we’ll have a good summer,” Matsuyama said.
He offered a glimpse of the uncertainties he now faces with his physical concerns. After a second-round 65 at the Memorial, which he had won in 2014 for his PGA Tour breakthrough, Matsuyama offered the following insights: “I feel great,” he replied to a question as to how he felt physically. “You never know, though, tomorrow morning.”
Throughout the current 2022-2023 season, Matsuyama has remained cautiously optimistic he can return to the winner’s enclosure again and stand out as the winningest Asian golfer on the PGA Tour. “I think we are getting closer on what we were working on,” he said in March.
“Whether or not those changes will produce results or I can hit the ball the way I want to hit it, that will take some time. We also talk about the condition of my neck and how to put as little stress on it as possible.”
For years, Matsuyama, who is currently ranked 26th, stood out as the leading Asian in the Official World Golf Ranking but he has now been surpassed by Korea’s Sungjae Im (19th) and Tom Kim (22nd). He is also presently 58th on the FedEx Cup points list and needs to sustain his climb if he is to maintain the longest active streak of any player by qualifying for his 10th straight Playoffs finale, the Tour Championship, in late August which is exclusive to the top-30 golfers.
Perhaps a new look with the beard and a relaxed attitude are the ingredients Matsuyama requires in his chase for a second major victory and ninth PGA Tour title. With Hollywood just a few kilometres away from this week’s venue, he may well rewrite his own script and emerge as a champion once again.
The writer is senior director, marketing & communications – APAC, for the PGA Tour and is based in Malaysia.
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