Hideki Matsuyama has a great history at Muirfield Village that includes a victory in 2014, and he heads into the Memorial Tournament no worse than tied-11th in his last four stroke play starts.
The Japanese 24-year-old tied for seventh at both The Players Championship and The Masters, shortly after he won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February.
For three years Matsuyama has ranked within the top 30 in the final FedEx Cup standings, which is testament to the consistency of his game.
One of his favourite venues is Muirfield Village, nick-named Jack’s Place in honour of course designer and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus. The course has hosted the Solheim, Presidents, and Ryder Cups along with the Memorial Tournament.
It was at the 6,709-metre course that Matsuyama broke onto the PGA Tour with a playoff victory over Kevin Na. The win came after Bubba Watson and Adam Scott floundered down the stretch, a comms occurrence for the world’s best on Sunday at the Ohio layout.
This year the course presents similar dangers, but Matsuyama has risen through the chaos in years gone by and will look forward to the challenge.
The stellar field includes the three best golfers in the world, but Japan’s top-ranked will surely be competing against them on Sunday afternoon.
