With all the buzz about Jordan Spieth and his success at Riviera Country Club and Rory McIlroy’s U.S. debut, there’s a serious contender at the Northern Trust Open who is quietly going about his business prior to Thursday’s start.
Hideki Matsuyama had a good shot here last year and he has the most momentum going into the first round when he’ll play in the morning wave with Rory and Matt Kuchar. He came up with clutch putt after clutch putt to beat Rickie Fowler in Phoenix and he obviously is skilled enough to maneuver his way around the difficult Riviera layout.
Matsuyama has climbed to the No. 12 ranking in the world and he is on the rise.
Spieth and McIlroy are getting the lion’s share of the attention this week as is Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Bubba Watson.
Matsuyama knows what Spieth, McIlroy as well as Jason Day and Fowler are doing but he is undaunted. He is, in fact, motivated by the young players at the top of the world rankings.
“Those four set the bar so high and that’s what motivates me to practice harder and practice more, to be able to keep up with them,” Matsuyama said after his Phoenix victory.
So he’s already picked off Fowler. If he can finish better than Jordan and McIlroy this week, he might just be picking up his second win of the season come Sunday.
