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Hideki Matsuyama Undecided on Crucial Club That Helped Capture St. Jude Title

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2 years ago

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Call it a hunch — one that paid off mightily.

Knowing he was familiar with the greens at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, Hideki Matsuyama decided to switch to a Scotty Cameron by Titleist Craftsman Squareback SSS prototype based on the Circa 62 model for the year’s first playoff event.

Matsuyama said after he picked up his second win of the year:

“Coming into Memphis, I felt like I needed a change of pace, kind of a refresh with my putter. I thought about the putters I had, and I felt, because I knew this course, I know the condition of the greens, and I thought this putter might work. It did. I putt it great. And I won.”

The move immediately paid off, as the eventual winner finished first in Shots Gained: Putting in the first round (+2.63) and for the tournament overall (+2.06). It was his best metric of the entire tournament and far ahead of his season average of -0.065 in SG: Putting for 2024.

After nearly giving the tournament away, a 28-footer for birdie on No. 17 proved to be the winning shot.

The new stick was always one of five or six that Matsuyama traveled with, but it was the first time he decided to use it.

Despite the boost in putting stats, whether it returns for an encore for the BMW Championship next week in Denver remains to be seen:

“I’ve never played Castle Pines. We’ll just have to wait and see what the greens are like there before I choose which putter I’ll use.”

Regardless of the result, Matsuyama is locked into the season-ending Tour Championship in two weeks. He was forced to withdraw from last year’s BMW Championship with back issues.

Cover Image via Golf Digest

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Chris has worked in sports journalism for nearly 20 years and also loves the game of golf, even though it often doesn't love him back. Year-round golf is a perk of living in Florida, where Chris moved from his native New York shortly after graduating from college. Chris has played some famous courses in the state, including Bay Hill in Orlando and Innisbrook in the Tampa Bay area, and next on his to-do list is the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass to take a crack at the famous island hole.

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