At No. 14 in the world, Hideki Matsuyama was the top-ranked player in Minnesota this week for the 3M Open.
That’s no longer the case.
After opening with a 6-over 77, which included a +4 on the par-5 finishing hole, Matsuyama withdrew from the tournament, citing a sore wrist.
In addition to rehabbing his injury, Matsuyama is reportedly mulling over a megabucks contract with LIV Golf and contemplating whether to stay with PGA Tour through the playoffs, or head to the upstart tour next week at Trump National.
The argument against going to LIV now: the 2021 Masters champ is currently ranked 8th in the FedEx Cup race and with only two weeks to go in the regular season, he’s guaranteed a trip to East Lake for the big-money finale. By staying with the PGA Tour through August, he’d only be missing one LIV event, the Bedminster stop.
The argument to go straight to LIV now: at the conclusion of the playoffs, Aug. 25-28, the 2022 PGA Tour season is officially over, and it’s expected that at least a dozen top-ranked names will be headed to the LIV league and play in the final five events of the inaugural season, starting in Boston, Sep. 2-4. Hideki would no longer be the big get and instead would be competing among more for the biggest pile of cash. By waiting, even one event, he’s potentially forfeiting tens of millions in the overall deal.
