The First Look: ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP

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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Mackenzie Hughes won the Sanderson Farms Championship in a playoff over Sepp Straka on Sunday at the Country Club of Jackson, collecting $1.422 million in official earnings and picking up 500 FedExCup points to lead the standings for the first time in his career. Canadian Hughes, who was +8000 on BetMGM Sportsbook pre-tournament, claimed his second PGA TOUR win, his first since the 2016 RSM Classic with an eight-foot birdie on the second playoff hole. Austria’s Straka dropped his second playoff in his last four TOUR starts (2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship). He was seeking his second title of the 2022 calendar year (The Honda Classic). He picked up $861,100 for his efforts and 300 FedExCup points to sit equal third on the standings. Hughes leads the FedExCup with 528 points, Max Homa is second with 500 with Straka and Danny Willett tied third at 300 points. Here’s a breakdown of the purse and FedExCup points for the Sanderson Farms Championship:

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Thursday morning at the 86th Masters Tournament, Tiger Woods makes his TOUR comeback from severe leg injuries suffered in a single-car accident in February 2021. Woods’ most recent TOUR start occurred at the 2020 Masters (held in November), three months prior to the accident in Los Angeles after which amputation of his right leg was considered. The five-time Masters winner made his first public appearance since the accident at the Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge in December, in which Woods did not compete. Two weeks later, he played the PNC Championship (in carts) with son Charlie, finishing runner-up. Woods gets his opening round at Augusta National underway at 11:04 a.m. ET Thursday, alongside Joaquin Niemann and Louis Oosthuizen. Keep it here for updates throughout the round.

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