Hideki shows quiet confidence
ON a picture-postcard Florida day filled with exceptional scoring in the opening round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, you’d normally hear the roars from one end of this venue to the other. Instead, it says everything about the times we’re living in that even at the vast amphitheatre of the 17th, the crowd numbers were small and very subdued. This was the final day of golf normality, if you will, before the crowds are kept away and the game falls silent. It was certainly harsh on Hideki Matsuyama, who showed his penchant for low scores by equalling the course record of 63 and then faced a barrage of questions about playing in front of no spectators for the next three days. Matsuyama shares the record with three of the greats in Greg Norman, Nick Price and Fred Couples. ‘I knew that if I eagled my final hole I would be in good company and I’m so happy it went in,’ he said. Graeme McDowell finished one shot closer to the lead with a 68 in a big week for the Northern Irishman. He is currently 51st in the world, and the top 50 at the end of this month get an invitation to the Masters. ‘Aside from the fact it’s my favourite course, I think my three and five-year-old would both look cute in their Augusta boiler suits at the par three event,’ he said. As for what the next three days are going to be like, he opted for a welcome note of levity, adding: ‘Like Augusta, it’s a course where the crowds and the roars play such a big part, so it is going to feel strange. But I’d love to know just how strange it is trying to win a first prize of $2.7million with no crowd.’ Rory McIlroy continued the curious travails of every recent defending champion — none has finished in the top 10 since Adam Scott in 2005 — with a poorly played front nine completed in no fewer than 38 shots.