“We’ll see” - Hideki Matsuyama doubtful about taking new putter to BMW Championship despite victory at FedEx St. Jude Championship

Hideki Matsuyama has registered his second win this year at the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind. He won $3.6 million of the total prize purse of $20 million for the tournament.

After scoring 65, 64 and 64 in the first three rounds, Matsuyama had a hiccup in the final round after he scored two bogeys and a double bogey. The Japanese player made a recovery in time and notched two birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to finish with a score of 17-under 263.

Hideki Matsuyama used a new putter at the TPC Southwind: a Scotty Cameron Craftsman Squareback Tour Prototype. Talking about it, he said (via PGA Tour):

"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."

Hideki Matsuyama won the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship by two strokes over Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele.

"For some reason when I was at home in Orlando coming to this tournament, I just started feeling that this putter may work on these greens," he added.

The 32-year-old was further asked if he'd play with the same putter in the second leg of FedEx playoffs at Castle Pines Golf Club. He said:

"Whether or not I'll use it next week, we'll see. I've never played Castle Pines golf course, and we'll just have to wait and see what the greens are like there before I choose which putter I'll use."

Winning the first leg of the FedEx playoffs gave him 2000 points. Matsuyama, who was positioned eighth before the tournament in FedEx standings, jumped to third. He is now a little over 1100 points behind Xander Schauffele and more than 2600 points behind Scottie Scheffler.

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A look at Hideki Matsuyama's performance in 2024

Hideki Matsuyama has had an amazing 2024 season with two wins. He also has had six top-10 finishes and 10 top-25 finishes on the PGA Tour. He also won the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Matsuyama's first victory of the year came at Genesis Invitational. He won by a margin of three strokes over Luke List and Will Zalatoris. His other notable finishes include a third finish at the 2024 Olympics, a sixth finish at US Open and a T6 finish at the Players Championship.

Let's take a look at Hideki Matsuyama's performance in the 2024 season:

2024 OLY Golf (M) Tournaments

• Olympic Men's Golf Competition: 3 (63-68-71-65, 267, -17)

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments

• The Sentry: 58 (71-68-76-69, 284, -8)
• Sony Open in Hawaii: T30 (70-68-67-66, 271, -9)
• Farmers Insurance Open: T13 (66-71-76-67, 280, -8)
• AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T71 (75-71-70, 216, E)
• WM Phoenix Open: T22 (69-68-68-70, 275, -9)
• The Genesis Invitational: 1 (69-68-68-62, 267, -17)
• Arnold Palmer Invitational pres. by Mastercard: T12 (67-70-72-76, 285, -3)
• THE PLAYERS Championship: T6 (69-69-68-67, 273, -15)
• Valero Texas Open: T7 (73-70-66-71, 280, -8)
• Masters Tournament: T38 (76-74-71-74, 295, +7)
• PGA Championship: T35 (70-65-70-71, 276, -8)
• the Memorial Tournament pres. by Workday: T8 (73-70-74-70, 287, -1)
• U.S. Open: 6 (72-66-70-70, 278, -2)
• Travelers Championship: T23 (66-69-69-64, 268, -12)
• Genesis Scottish Open: Missed Cut (71-67, 138, -2)
• The Open: T66 (75-72-75-74, 296, +12)
• FedEx St. Jude Championship: 1 (65-64-64-70, 263, -17)