Hideki Matsuyama's red-hot start is one of the biggest storylines of the early PGA Tour season. But in addition to him racking up wins and runner-ups (four in just six starts), he's also been piling up something else: Displays of disappointment at shots that turn out really well.
It's gotten to the point that announcers should avoid watching Matsuyama's reaction -- because it's only going to confuse them and mislead fans watching. And during Thursday's opening round of the Genesis open, the Japanese star took this unusual tendency to a whole other level.
On Riviera's par-3 16th hole, Matsuyama hit an 8-iron and then dropped his head in disgust. Was his ball heading to one of the bunkers guarding the green? Had he bladed it over the green? Had he hit a shank? Nope. Matsuyama's ball took one hop, rattled off the flagstick, and settled two feet from the hole. Seriously. Check it out:
"He hated it and he hit the flagstick," a commentator remarks. "I don't get it, I really don't. He does it so often."
Either Matsuyama is a world-class perfectionist, he has worse feel or vision than we think, or he's just playing everybody. Either way, it made for one of the more unusual near-aces you'll ever see on the PGA Tour.
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