How to Watch: Presidents Cup, Saturday

Wake up. Step out of your room. Hop onto a boat. Arrive at the first tee. Theoretically, that’s how you could start the day at Mayakoba, the resort course hosting this week’s event. Of course, players will need to warm up on the range first, but it’s easy to get distracted at the Riviera Maya, with all the fresh-water canals, emerald jungles and wildlife in the area. And yes, those are spider monkeys roaming the fairways. THE FLYOVER The 532-yard par-5 13th is the easiest hole at El Camaleon. A year ago, it played to a stroke average of 4.475, which made it the 31st easiest par 5 of the 163 played on the PGA TOUR last season. A prevailing left-to-right wind will impact a player’s strategy, but those who fail to make at least a birdie are giving up significant strokes to the field. Here’s a look at an Aaron Wise chip-in for eagle at the 2016 Mayakoba. LANDING ZONE Of the 918 holes played on the PGA TOUR last season, the 452-yard par-4 14th at El Camaleon was the 11th toughest, playing to a stroke average of 4.373. Just one eagle and 19 birdies were made, compared to 113 bogeys and 29 doubles or others. The fairway offers a fairly generous landing zone, but a headwind and dense mangroves surrounding the hole turn par into a difficult task. WEATHER CHECK From PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Williams: “High pressure will keep the tranquil weather pattern going through Friday. Can’t rule out an isolated shower or thunderstorm on any given day, but the bulk of the area will likely remain dry. Just enough increase in moisture may increase our chances for seeing scattered showers and thunderstorms on Saturday. Showers may linger into Sunday morning with dry conditions returning for the afternoon. A cold front will drop south and bring a good chance for t-storms by Tuesday.â€� For the latest weather news from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK Brought a smile to my face really just stepping on this property.This is an extremely relaxing week, which I’ll take advantage of that. Definitely a couple spa days. BY THE NUMBERS 68.65 – Scoring average by Charles Howell III in his nine appearances at Mayakoba. He has three top-10s in his last five starts in this event. 70 – Number of birdies made individually this season by Beau Hossler, Emiliano Grillo, Si Woo Kim, Chez Reavie and Gary Woodland, each of whom is in the field this week. That’s one birdie shy of the current birdie leader Kevin Tway (71). 1 – Number of players who have competed every year of the Mayakoba. That distinction belongs to Chris Stroud, who has three top-5 finishes in those 11 starts. 2 – Number of Mexico natives who have won PGA TOUR events. Cesar Sanudo won the 1970 Azalea Open Invitational, while Victor Regalado won twice, in 1974 (Pleasant Valley Classic) and 1978 (the tournament now known as the John Deere Classic). SCATTERSHOTS  A record four players from Mexico – Carlos Ortiz, Roberto Diaz, Jose de Jesus Rodriguez and Abraham Ancer — have their PGA TOUR cards this season, and all four are in the field this week. They’ve each played and made the cut at Mayakoba in previous starts. “Having four Mexicans playing with a full card this year, it’s incredible,â€� Ancer said. Added defending champion Patton Kizzire: “They didn’t just get here by chance; those guys are really good golfers.â€� U.S. Amateur champ Viktor Hovland of Norway is making his PGA TOUR debut this week. Hovland, who played collegiately at Oklahoma State, is playing on a sponsor exemption. So is Adria Arnaus, who also is making his TOUR debut. Arnaus, who played collegiately at Texas A&M, is from Spain. Green speeds this week will be between 10.5 to 11 feet due to the contours of the green and the sea breeze. The latter is most noticeable on the ocean holes No. 4 and 15.

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The weight of history was almost too much. In his first interview since winning the Masters and returning home to Japan, Hideki Matsuyama said becoming the first from his country to win the coveted Green Jacket – or any men’s major, for that matter – was almost too overwhelming to think about as he navigated the course Sunday. “I was filled with nerves from the first hole to the last,” said Matsuyama, who bogeyed three of the last four holes but still edged Will Zalatoris by one. “I never felt there was a time for me to let up even a little bit and relax.” The victory was huge in Japan, with congratulations pouring in from all corners. Retired golfers like Isao Aoki and Jumbo Ozaki weighed in, as expected, but so did tennis pro Kei Nishikori and even Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Matsuyama, who spoke Sunday of inspiring kids back home, said in his press conference in Japan that he hopes his daughter will be among them. Japan’s women golfers, he added, have been pushing the men for years. His breakthrough victory came a decade after he was the low amateur at Augusta, and he climbed from 33rd to seventh in the FedExCup. Now comes the question of what’s next. More history? Perhaps. Asked about capturing the remaining three major titles, he said he’ll have to draw up some new goals. He laughed when asked about the next 10 years, but he’s still just 29, and absent the weight of history he could feel liberated to summon his A game more often. He was T7 in greens in regulation and second in scrambling at Augusta. And his putting, always hot and cold, was good enough. Most crucially, swing changes that Matsuyama had been working since the outset of this year – he was trying to break a win drought that dated to 2017 – have finally set. He sensed it prior to the opening round last week. “Technically, I’ve had some pretty frustrating days since the beginning of this year and haven’t been able to see the results that I’ve wanted,” he said. “But after my practice round on Wednesday, I felt like I kind of found something and started to feel pretty good about my chances that week. It’s hard to define what those feeling were but that was probably the biggest impression I had going into the tournament.” Matsuyama did not play in the 2012 PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, where it will return May 20-23. Nor did he play in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where the tournament will return June 17-20, or the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, which will host that tournament a year later than originally planned, July 15-18. After a three-week break, he will return to action at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 6-9. His best in five Wells Fargo starts is a T11 in 2016, although he finished T5 at the 2017 PGA there. Most top of mind, of course, for Matsuyama and throughout all of Japan, is the Olympics Men’s Golf Competition at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, Japan, July 29-Aug. 1. “To be honest, I don’t know what will happen yet, but I think I will be selected via the rankings,” he said. “So right now, I just plan to be careful and try and avoid any injuries in the tournaments I have left to play before the Olympics, and then go there and win a gold medal. “That’s my goal,” he added, “and I’ll do my best to accomplish it.” Given the barrier he just broke, don’t bet against him.

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