With his TGL hat on, Rory McIlroy will have been delighted to have seen Boston Common teammate Hideki Matsuyama win The Sentry in stunning fashion last week.
It was Hideki Matsuyama who emerged victorious in the curtain-raiser for the new PGA Tour season, with the 2021 Masters champion finishing three shots clear of Collin Morikawa in Maui.
Of course, there has been plenty of debate about The Sentry following the event. Matsuyama broke the PGA Tour record for the lowest 72 hole score to par, with the 32-year-old reaching 35 under par.
It was a record The Sentry already held, with Cameron Smith winning in 2022 on 34 under par. Meanwhile, no player who completed all four days at Kapalua last week finished over par.
Rory McIlroy reacts to Hideki Matsuyama breaking a PGA Tour record by winning at The Sentry
Some fans criticised the Plantation Course as a PGA Tour venue, while Smylie Kaufman claimed a scratch golfer could shoot level par around The Sentry venue in the more favourable conditions on Friday and Saturday.
But perhaps that takes too much away from how well Matsuyama actually played. Ultimately, he finished 10 shots clear of fourth, so it is not as if it was a simple task to reach 35 under par. In fact, speaking on commentary during the TGL opener, Rory McIlroy suggested that he would not have been in contention had he been playing in the same tournament.
“I wasn’t there. I’m glad I wasn’t there because I would have no chance of keeping up with that. But yeah, really, really impressive from Hideki,” he said, when asked about his win.
“The one thing we’ve always known is he’s a great ball striker, and if he just starts putting like that, it’s game over for the rest of the field. But yeah, it’s an impressive start to the year and hopefully he can keep that going for TGL too.”
The big change McIlroy has noticed in Xander Schauffele
Matsuyama is far from being the only player McIlroy needs to worry about keeping up with this year. Obviously, there is a real intrigue surrounding whether Scottie Scheffler can replicate his 2024. But it was Xander Schauffele who led the way in the majors last year.
Schauffele won the PGA Championship and The Open Championship to move himself halfway towards the career grand slam. And while the 31-year-old was representing New York Golf Club in the TGL opener, McIlroy noted the big difference he has noticed in the world number two.
“Xander has got a lot longer over the last 12 months working with Chris Como a little bit. He can almost keep up with me,” he said.
Ultimately, it proved to be a hugely disappointing display for Schauffele in the SoFi Center. New York were soundly beaten by The Bay. And Schauffele did not appear to have his best stuff – which is understandable given the change of environment.
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