The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Matsuyama looks to put an end to year-long drought this week
AKRON, OHIO — Hideki Matsuyama shot 61 on the final day at Firestone last year to win the Bridgestone Invitational, his sixth victory worldwide in 20 starts. He was among the favorites to win the PGA Championship the following week and nearly pulled it off until Justin Thomas overtook him on the back nine.
That was his last good chance to win a tournament.
Matsuyama returns to this World Golf Championship needing to revive some good memories.
“I started out the new season and I really haven’t played that well,” Matsuyama said Tuesday. “I’ve been grinding and practicing hard. Hopefully, this will be a week that I can catch the magic again and play well.”
Matsuyama, once in the mix to reach No. 1 in the world, now is at No. 16. More troublesome is he is No. 86 in the FedEx Cup standings with only three tournaments left before the start of the tour’s postseason.
In his four years on the PGA Tour, the 26-year-old Japanese star has never missed the Tour Championship.
“I have some work to do,” Matsuyama said. “I’ve never been in this position before, and so I’ll have to get on my game and play well these last couple of weeks. Hopefully, it will carry through to the Tour Championship.”
Ryder Cup outlook
Russell Knox was overlooked as a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup two years ago, and a late surge — runner-up at the French Open, a victory in the Irish Open — has given him a chance to make the European team and at least put him in the conversation as a pick.
Knox had the right perspective when it comes to an event like the Ryder Cup.
“It’s not a goal of mine as much as it’s a reward,” he said after missing the cut at the British Open. “My goal was to play good this week, to try and have my best major finish. Ryder Cup is a reward for good play. Of course, it’s on my goal list, but I’m not focusing on it. I’m focusing on each event and trying to finish off the season.
“So the Ryder Cup, of course, is there,” he said. “It’s like a little diamond hanging there at the end. But I’ve got to take care of a lot of business before that.”
Knox is in the $10 million Bridgestone Invitational from his Irish Open victory, and the money counts toward European points as a World Golf Championship. So do earnings at next week’s PGA Championship, where the prize fund will be at least $10.5 million.
PGA field
Jason Kokrak closed with a 66 in the RBC Canadian Open, which put him in a five-way tie for 12th. It also might have put him in the PGA Championship.
Chris Kirk had a 76-70 weekend at Glen Abbey, and that might have cost him.
The field for the 100th edition of the PGA Championship was all but set this week, and one of the main categories is the top 70 from a PGA Tour money list that starts and ends with the last two Canadian Opens. Kirk was holding down the 70th spot.
Whee Kim tied for second, moving him from No. 87 to No. 60 and a spot in his first major championship.
Kokrak’s finish was worth $121,500, and it allowed him to go past Kirk by $17,430 to No. 71. That was important because the PGA Championship has set aside two spots from its 156-man field in case the winners of this week’s tournaments are already eligible.
Odds are in Kokrak’s favor. Only three players at the Bridgestone Invitational are not exempt into the PGA. Odds are not in Kirk’s favor, because only nine players from the field at the Barracuda Championship are in the PGA next week at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
Divots
Jordan Spieth and friends — a lot of them — headed to Spain after the British Open. He posted a photo on Instagram of a group of 13 guys in front of a plane, but this wasn’t a “spring break” trip in the summer. It was his bachelor party . ... NCAA champion Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest is an automatic selection for the Women’s World Amateur Team next month in Ireland . ... Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry will return to play in the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae on the Web.com Tour for the second straight year. He missed the cut last year with rounds of 74-74. The tournament is next week (same as the PGA Championship) . ... Scotland’s Catriona Matthew was awarded an honorary membership at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, where she won the Women’s British Open . ... Miguel Angel Jimenez made it seven straight years that the PGA Tour Champions had a player who won multiple majors.
Final word
“That’s one thing I do love about this game. No matter how good you are, you can be better.” — Dustin Johnson.