There’s a very good reason why Hideki Matsuyama is one of the most popular players on the PGA Tour amongst golf fans and his fellow pros.
Hideki Matsuyama lost a playoff against Chris Gotterup on Sunday at the WM Phoenix Open as he missed the chance to take his PGA Tour win total to 12.
Matsuyama was put off twice at the Phoenix Open during the latter stages of the tournament.
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First, an unruly fan shouted ‘get in the hole‘ while the Japanese star stood over his putt to win the tournament on the 18th hole.
And then a chair was dropped on a concrete path as Matsuyama was midway through his swing on the 18th tee during the playoff against Gotterup.
The 33-year-old reset and went through his routine again before snap-hooking his tee shot into the water.
Gotterup birdied the playoff hole in the end, but things could still have been very different for Matsuyama had he not been forced to deal with two very unfortunate incidents.
Hideki Matsuyama shows true class after losing Phoenix Open playoff
Matsuyama is one of the nicest and most humble players in the professional game.
The humility that he and his caddie showed after his victory at Augusta National was a prime example of why he is so well-liked.
And he reminded everyone yet again of his exceptional attitude just after losing out to Gotterup in the playoff at TPC Scottsdale.
When speaking to reporters following his round, Matsuyama chose not to mention the two unfortunate incidents that happened on both the 18th green and tee late on Sunday.
Any other player would surely have discussed the incidents at length.
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Matsuyama was very hard done by but he didn’t make it all about him and his bad luck after his playoff defeat to Gotterup.
Instead, he ensured that the focus was more on Gotterup’s great golf rather than the two incidents.
Pure class from the man from Japan.
Hideki Matsuyama showed more class midway through Phoenix Open final round
Matsuyama is so different to the majority of golfers on the PGA Tour.
He proved that with his actions on the 15th hole at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday.
The 2021 Masters champion hit yet another wayward drive on the par five, and missed the fairway well to the right.
When Matsuyama reached his ball he discovered that it was sitting down in a sandy area in the rough.
I would suggest that 99% of PGA Tour players would have called for a rules official in an attempt to get a free drop from what looked like unusual ground or abnormal course conditions.
However, the 11-time PGA Tour winner didn’t waste any time. He didn’t call for a rules official and simply got on with it.
He laid up and made birdie the hard way.
Hideki Matsuyama is one of the PGA Tour’s good guys and he should be really proud of the way that he carried himself at the Phoenix Open
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