28th May 2019 | The Memorial Tournament
The Memorial Tip: Hideki Matsuyama
Hasn't won for a while but his tee-to-green game is as good as ever and there are signs his putter is heating up. Won here in 2014 and course is a perfect fit for his game.
It’s been a couple of years since Hideki Matsuyama got hot and won almost every tournament he entered but his underlying numbers aren’t disimillair from that period and he might be about to get hot again.
Currently Matsuyama is gaining 1.7 strokes on the field tee-to-green that is enough to see him sit fourth in the rankings and is actually a career best; he gained 1.6 strokes for the 2016 season. The difference maker is the putter and that is showing signs of improvement.
In terms of strokes gained, the PGA Championship was statistically Matsuyama’s best putting performance of the season and three of his best tournaments with the flat stick have come in his last five starts (where strokes gained putting are recorded.)
The 27-year-old is therefore trending in the right direction and his elite ball-striking means Muirfield Village is a good fit for his game. His record at the Memorial is 1-5-MC-45-13 and I suspect he will return to the winner’s enclosure fairly soon.
Paddy Power are paying 8 places 1/5 odds.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 08:49 28th May, 2019 but subject to change