One & Done: RBC Heritage

Hideki Matsuyama is never complacent, especially when it comes to equipment. The defending Masters champion is constantly testing and tweaking his gear to find the perfect fit for his game. As a Cleveland/Srixon staffer, Matsuyama works closely with the company’s fitters, builders and designers to refine head shapes, dial in launch parameters, and get the right setup. “Hideki is always looking for a way to be better, even after winning the Masters,” a Srixon representative told GolfWRX. “There is a purpose for the processes, such as finding a solution for a current issue or preparing for an upcoming major tournament. Hideki is not afraid to change his specs, even if they have been successful for him. There is always room for growth.” MORE THE MERRIER Matsuyama’s passion for experimentation is illustrated by the fact that he regularly has 20-plus clubs in his bag during practice days, exceeding the 14 he’s limited to in competition. Aside from making the bag very heavy during practice rounds, the extra clubs and shaft options make it easy for Matsuyama to test equipment every week. When GolfWRX took photos of Matsuyama’s clubs at this year’s Farmers Insurance Open, he had 20 clubs in his bag, including extra wedges and shafts. SWITCH IT UP Matsuyama also had two different Srixon ZX7 drivers in the bag at the Farmers. If you look closely near the hosel of the driver pictured on the left below, you can see that it has different labeling than the other version; this likely means the driver has different loft or internal weighting for slightly different launch and spin than the driver pictured on the right. Matsuyama isn’t afraid to make changes, even if a club helped him win a major. He’s using a Srixon ZX7 driver this week after winning last year’s Masters with a ZX5. The ZX5 may create a bit more ball speed, but the ZX7 is slightly more forgiving and thus provides more accuracy, according to Srixon. A NOTCH ABOVE Matsuyama is one of the top iron players on TOUR. His average ranking in Strokes Gained: Approach over his eight seasons is 6.6. One interesting characteristic of his Srixon Z-Forged irons are the small notches on the heel and toe sections of the sole. Back in 2021, Srixon told GolfWRX that Matsuyama is a strong believer in the benefits of these notches. “Hideki is one of the leaders in developing the toe and heel notches,” Srixon said. “He strongly believes the toe and heel notch creates a more consistent, smooth turf interaction. Hideki has always had these notches in his irons, and he was a huge part of bringing the notches back in the ZX line.” EYE TEST Matsuyama also is very particular about offset, which is the space between the leading edge on the face of the iron and the hosel. More offset gives players more time to square the club because the clubface is behind the hosel. The clubs for your everyday player have more offset than those used by TOUR players. “With regards to offset, Hideki prefers some offset over zero offset in his irons,” Srixon told GolfWRX. “He has the most specific eye, and he loves to tinker and test all products. The key areas for Hideki when it comes to irons are the general hosel shape and taper consistency, the blend between the face flat and hosel, and most importantly the smooth transitions from the hosel into the leading edge – there needs to be offset as he wants the transition to be smooth and almost straight.” GRIND TIME When it comes to his wedges, Matsuyama is especially discerning about the sole grinds and how they match up with specific course conditions. “Hideki doesn’t change his 52-degree sole often, but he is constantly tinkering with his 56 and 60,” Srixon told GolfWRX. “All three soles have a subtle C-grind shape. The 56- and 60-degree have an aggressive heel relief. Hideki also utilizes a similar subtle leading-edge grind to the one that is in his irons. Hideki will vary the width and bounce angles of the three (soles) depending on the conditions and shots that he is looking to hit. These three tiers as well as the sole radius (the sole curvature from heel to toe) allow us to manipulate the sole design to achieve the turf interaction and versatility that he may be asking for without changing the address shape. In the 56 and 60, Hideki plays a very straight leading edge with little-to-no offset. He plays his 60 and 56 weaker to help remove the offset and maintain a very straight, smooth transition from the hosel to leading-edge.” ON THE GREEN Matsuyama is also constantly testing new Scotty Cameron putters, mostly opting for a Newport-style blade head made of GSS (German Stainless Steel) material, with a single line on the black flange, a red-and-black color scheme, and a smooth milled face. While the particulars of Matsuyama’s gear setup are always changing, and he keeps plenty different options around during practice days, below is Matsuyama’s expected WITB setup come competition time on Thursday at the Masters. Driver: Srixon ZX7 (9 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 8TX 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM2 (15 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 9TX 5-wood: Cobra RadSpeed (17.5 degrees) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 10TX Irons: Srixon Z-Forged (4-9 iron) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Wedges: Cleveland RTX 4 Forged (52, 56 and 60 degrees) Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Putter: Scotty Cameron GSS prototype Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

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The PGA TOUR announced today the four featured groupings for Thursday-Friday at The Genesis Invitational, to be contested at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of The Genesis Invitational will be released officially at approximately 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 11.  RELATED: Preview: The Genesis Invitaional HOW TO FOLLOW (ALL TIMES ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-2:45 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CBS).   PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11:15 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (Featured Groups and Featured Holes) Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS (ALL TIMES ET) Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas, Steve Stricker • Returning to the site of his PGA TOUR debut in 1992, tournament host Woods makes his second attempt at a record-breaking 83rd PGA TOUR win; The Genesis Invitational is the PGA TOUR event Woods has made the most starts without a win (13). • The FedExCup leader and a two-time winner this season, Thomas led the 2019 Genesis Invitational by four strokes entering the final round before falling to J.B. Holmes. • Stricker, winner of the 2010 Genesis Invitational, will make his 500th career start on the PGA TOUR. J.B. Holmes, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose • Defending champion Holmes won his fifth career PGA TOUR title at The Genesis Invitational in 2019 and enters the week with three consecutive top-20s. • Rahm has finished in the top 10 in each of his three starts during the 2019-20 season (10th/Sentry Tournament of Champions, 2nd/Farmers Insurance Open, T9/Waste Management Phoenix Open). • A 10-time PGA TOUR winner, Rose is making his first start at The Genesis Invitational since 2017 (T4). Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy • Cantlay, who played collegiately at nearby UCLA, has two top-fives in 2019-20 (P2/Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, 4th/Sentry Tournament of Champions). • In 12 starts at The Genesis Invitational, Johnson has one win (2017) and seven additional top-10s. • The defending FedExCup champion and top-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking, McIlroy is making his fourth start at Riviera Country Club in search of his second victory of the season (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions). Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson • Koepka, who won three times last season, is making his first start on TOUR since withdrawing from THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES due to injury. • With a third-place result at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Mickelson became the third player in PGA TOUR history with at least one top-10 in 30 consecutive seasons on TOUR. • Three-time Genesis Invitational winner Watson has finished in the top 10 in each of his last two starts, accomplishing the feat for the first time since winning the 2018 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and a tie for fifth at the 2018 Masters Tournament.

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There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned Texas showdown and some of the PGA TOUR’s best stars are lining up to take their shot at glory at TPC San Antonio for this week’s Valero Texas Open. Trying to imagine some of our modern stars as characters in the old west … you’d have to say Jimmy Walker would probably hold his own as a sheriff or lawman … he already looks pretty decent in a pair of cowboy boots. What about Billy Horschel? He strikes us as someone who would be up for a scrap … and someone you’d want in your corner in a shootout. And Jhonny Vegas? He could be one scary hombre. Then there is Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler who provide some serious star power to the event this week … but as far as old west characters … we reckon they’d more likely be the clever card sharps than the sharp shooters … finding the most efficient ways towards a goal without getting their hands too dirty. Here’s a look at some of the Featured Groups (FedExCup ranking in parenthesis). HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-3:30 p.m. (GC), 3:30-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (featured groups), 3:30-6 p.m. (featured holes). Fans can watch via Twitter window from 8:30 a.m. ET to approx. 9:30 a.m. Thurs/Fri and 10:30 a.m. ET to approx. 11:45a.m. ET Sat/Sun There will be a fan vote on Twitter Thursday to determine second Friday Featured Group. International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:30 to 23:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 15:00 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com). Billy Horschel (53) – Former FedExCup champion who boasts top four finishes at TPC San Antonio in the past and was T11 last year. Hasn’t missed a cut in eight months. Jordan Spieth (177) – Former FedExCup champion with 11 PGA TOUR wins including multiple majors returns to TPC San Antonio for the first time since he was runner up in 2015. Was 10th the year prior. Jhonattan Vegas (54) – Third at THE PLAYERS recently. Last nine rounds have been par or better. Round 1 tee time: 1:40 p.m. ET Round 2 tee time: 8:50 a.m. ET J.B. Holmes (18) – Winner at the Genesis Open in February, Holmes has three top 15s at TPC San Antonio. Adam Long (28) – Winner at the Desert Classic Long is continuing his push for Rookie of the Year honors. Graeme McDowell (42) – Fresh off his fourth PGA TOUR win at the Corales PuntaCana Resort and Club Championship. Round 1 tee time: 1:50 p.m. ET Round 2 tee time: 9:00 a.m. ET Rickie Fowler (10) – The Waste Management Phoenix Open winner earlier this season stumps up for his first time playing at TPC San Antonio. Andrew Landry (166) – The defending champion at TPC San Antonio looking for some positive vibes to kick start his FedExCup challenge this season. Jimmy Walker (180) – Winner in 2015 and four other top-16 results at TPC San Antonio including fourth place last season. Just the place Walker needs to reinvigorate his season. Round 1 tee time: 8:50 a.m. ET, Round 2 tee time: 1:40 p.m. ET Tony Finau (26) – Was T3 in 2017, his last start at TPC San Antonio. Has top 25s in his last three stroke play starts. Jim Furyk (21) – The veteran and former FedExCup champion has found a purple patch of form and will be looking to add to his two previous top-10s at TPC San Antonio. Matt Kuchar (1) – The FedExCup leader smarting from his championship loss to Kevin Kisner at WGC – Dell Technologies Match Play. Two-time winner this season and has yet to miss a cut in seven starts at TPC San Antonio where he was T4 in 2014. Round 1 tee time: 9:00 a.m. ET Round 2 tee time: 1:50 p.m. ET

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