Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Hideki Matsuyama

Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama has accepted a sponsor’s exemption to play in the 2013 Wyndham Championship. Matsuyama is a native and resident of Japan. He needed a sponsor’s exemption because he is not a PGA TOUR member and does not have status on this tour. Matsuyama is 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings and will play the Wyndham for the first time next week. The 21-year-old Japan Tour golfer is having a breakthrough season with two wins and two runner-up finishes this year; he is a three-time Japan Tour winner. He finished tied for 10th at the U.S. Open, tied for sixth at the British Open Championship, tied for 16th at the RBC Canadian Open and tied for 21st at last weekend’s Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championships event. He has moved from 159th to 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings this year. “Hideki’s rapid rise in the world golf rankings speaks for itself,” Wyndham Championship tournament director Mark Brazil said. “His phenomenal early-season success, with two wins and two runner-up finishes in Japan combined with his impressive play in his last four events, including top 10s in the last two majors, shows what an incredible talent Hideki is, and he is a major star in Japan. He is playing like a top-10 player in the world right now, and we are thrilled that he will be with us next week at the Wyndham.” Matsuyama won the Asian Amateur Championship in 2011 and ’12 and received an invitation to play the Masters as the Asian Amateur Champion. In 2011, he finished tied for 27th and received the prestigious Silver Cup for Low Amateur; he was the only amateur to make the cut that year. He finished tied for 54th in 2012.

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