Top 30 Players to Watch in 2019: No. 23 Hideki Matsuyama

THE OVERVIEW It was a perplexing season for the man from Japan, but a strong finish gives his passionate fans back home high hopes for 2019. Hideki Matsuyama followed the best year of his career with a winless campaign in 2018. He had four top-10s last season, but none between January and September. He almost missed the TOUR Championship for the first time in his career until posting five straight top-15 finishes to end the season. He placed fourth at the TOUR Championship and turned a disappointing season into the second-best FedExCup finish (13th) of his career. Matsuyama, 26, is still among the game’s young stars. He has qualified for East Lake in all five of his full seasons as a pro and, even after going winless in 2018, owns five PGA TOUR victories, including two World Golf Championships. He’s already made three Presidents Cup appearances, as well. If he can continue the form he displayed at the end of 2018, this upcoming year could be another good one for Japan’s biggest star. — By Sean Martin Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 96th Playoff appearances: 5 TOUR Championship appearances: 5 Best FedExCup result: 8th in 2017. SHOTLINK FUN FACT After two top-5 finishes in his first three starts on TOUR last season, Hideki Matsuyama then finished the season with two top-5 finishes in his last three starts to become the biggest mover in the FedExCup Playoffs. INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Hideki Matsuyama in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Matsuyama has become a stalwart of the International Team and he has the chance to follow in the footsteps of a mentor next year. Royal Melbourne, the site of the 2019 Presidents Cup, also was the site of the Internationals’ victory in 1998. That team was led by Matusyama’s countryman, Shigeki Maruyama, who went 5-0. Maruyama served as a Captain’s Assistant at Matsuyama’s first Presidents Cup. — By Sean Martin FANTASY INSIDER: At No. 9 in my full-membership fantasy ranking before the season started, he’s the first inside that top 10 appearing in our Top 30 series this month. His 2017-18 season was a learning experience for us as he logged middling results amid ongoing discomfort in his left wrist. He then grinded out the Playoffs to advance to the TOUR Championship as the lowest opening seed (76th). For all of the frustration that he’s presented in real time with injuries, he’s entirely worth the plunge in every situation. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Week-to-week, Matsuyama’s 14 club competition setup is probably the most difficult to predict on TOUR. From Monday-Wednesday of event weeks, it’s not unlikely to see Matsuyama with 25-plus clubs in his bag; he’s typically testing different driver setups, sets of Srixon irons, numerous Cleveland or Callaway wedges with different lofts and grinds, and one-off Scotty Cameron putters. At the Tour Department at Cleveland-Srixon’s headquarters, there’s a dedicated locker space strictly for Matsuyama’s backup equipment. Most recently, he’s switched into a Callaway XR Speed driver and a TaylorMade GAPR driving iron, both equipped with Graphite Design Tour AD-DI shafts. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Hideki is one of the more interesting dressers on TOUR. He always walks a sartorial tightrope with graphical prints, tonal patterns, pinstripes or bright colors. Sometimes he pulls it off; other times his kits look busy and have too much contrast. In 2019, I’d like to see Matsuyama take a “less is moreâ€� approach by using bright colors as accents rather than as the centerpieces of his outfits. — By Greg Monteforte

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