Hideki Matsuyama has won a number of significant events during his career, with the high point coming in 2021 when he became the first major winner from Japan at The Masters.
There is certainly an argument to be made that Matsuyama is the greatest ever male golfer from Japan. The 33-year-old has won 11 times on the PGA Tour, while he has finished inside the top six in all four of the major championships across his career.
One event the 33-year-old is yet to win, however, is The Players Championship, the flagship tournament on the PGA Tour.
He has four top 10s at TPC Sawgrass. Meanwhile, he secured a spot in the event’s history when he once tied the course record in the opening round of The Players Championship.
He did, however, not hit another shot that week in Ponte Vedra.
How Hideki Matsuyama tied the course record at TPC Sawgrass
Matsuyama, who started on the 10th tee, began his first round with four birdies in a row. His only dropped shot of the day came at the par five 16th.
But he went on to make four more birdies, as well as an eagle on his 18th hole of the day, to post a nine under par round of 63.
That left him two shots clear of Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Harris English and Si-woo Kim. Kim had won the event three years earlier.
Unfortunately for Matsuyama, his brilliance had come in the 2020 tournament. Of course, much of the world’s focus was taken up with fears surrounding COVID-19.
In fact, it had been confirmed the day before The Players that the situation was indeed considered a pandemic.
How the PGA Tour reacted after the opening round of The Players Championship in 2020
Initially, the PGA Tour decided that the final three rounds would be played behind closed doors – as would all tournaments for the following weeks. However, their stance was changed soon after the first round as it was announced that the event had been postponed.
It would prove to be nearly three months before the next PGA Tour event was held, with the Charles Schwab Challenge being the first tournament back in June.
The Open Championship was cancelled altogether, while the US Open was held in September. And The Masters did not take place until November.
Matsuyama was the co-owner of the course record for just three years. In 2023, Tom Hoge posted a 62, while Justin Thomas matched that score earlier this year.
Matsuyama missed the cut in 2021 and 2025. But he finished fifth in 2023 and tied for sixth the following year. In fact, in the 34 other rounds he has played at TPC Sawgrass, he has managed to break 67 on just one occasion.
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