Hideki Matsuyama With A Share Of The 54 Hole Lead On Maui

Jul 18, 2014; Wirral, GBR; Hideki Matsuyama tees off on the 8th hole during the second round at the 143rd Open Championship at The Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

As the wind picked up, and changed direction at the 2015 Hyundai Tournament of Champions, twenty-Two year-old Hideki Matsuyama fired his best round of the week, and the best round of the day. He got in the club-house with a share of the 54-hole lead, and will tee it up on Monday afternoon with Jimmy Walker in the final group at the Plantation Course on the Kapalua Resort in Hawaii.

 Hideki Matsuyama and Jimmy Walker..The Leaders

The young Japanese super-star started his Sunday with his lone bogey of the day, and quickly got the ship righted at the par five fifth hole with a birdie. He put two three-birdie strings together, one on the front, and one on the back, en route to a seven under par 65, and the best round of the day.

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Matsuyama cussed in Japanese on the dangerous par three eleventh hole, when a barrage of camera clicks went off during his backswing. He is very popular in his home country, and is enduring the Tiger Woods syndrome. He was able to make par.

With a rare Monday finish on the PGA Tour, Matsuyama will tee it up in the final round with 2014 Sony Open champ, Jimmy Walker, who carded a six under par on Sunday. Walker and Matsuyama are at 17 under par, and will take a two shot lead to the first tee on Monday.

Jimmy Walker got hot on the front nine where he made four birdies, and turning at 32. He cooled somewhat on the back, but more importantly, didn’t make a bogey on the day. He got in trouble a couple of times, but was able to salvage par.

The Field

The early reports from Maui are good, with respects to the weather, but the winds in that area of the world, and are very unpredictable. The two-shot lead enjoyed by Matsuyama, and Walker is only as safe as the winds. There are some good players who could become a factor in the final round, especially if the wind comes up, as it usually does, in the afternoon when the leaders are trying to finish.

Patrick Reed, and Sang moon Bae are both two shots back, and we have seen what Reed can do under pressure.

Like Walker, Patrick Reed did not make a bogey on Sunday. He wasn’t particularly sharp, and missed some putts that would have given him the outright lead. If he can continue to stay out of trouble on Monday, and his putter heats up, he has the talent to win this thing.

Sang Moon Bae however, can putt. Bae fired a four under 69 on Sunday, but made a lone bogey at the seventh hole. He is stealth-like around the golf course, and has the game to make up the two-shot deficit if he gets hot with the flat stick. I think he will have some trouble if the wind comes up.

A pair of Georgia Bulldogs are three back at 14 under par. Brendon Todd, and Russell Henley share fifth place. Todd has played very steady throughout this event, but Henley is up and down like a yo-yo.

Henley fired a first-round 65 on Friday, but has followed an excellent opening round with two, three over par 70’s on the weekend. Henley wins tournaments with the flat stick, and his putter has bailed him out all week. His problem on Sunday afternoon, was too many bogeys.

The mystery man this week is the big Bulldog, Bubba Watson. Bubba said in his post-round interview that he didn’t like playing holes where he couldn’t see the landing areas. The 7400 yard monster on Maui has plenty of those.

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Bubba came to Maui eight days ahead of time to get some reps at the Plantation Course, but it hasn’t seemed to help the two-time Masters Champ. He continues to hit into trouble, and at times, his usual, mediocre putter has kept him near the lead.

If the wind blows today, and Bubba can find a fairway, he may be a factor.

Zach Johnson…The Defending Champ

At eleven under par, in sole possession of tenth place, Defending champ, Zack Johnson has a chance to repeat, albeit a slim one. Zach has never really got it going this week, and after an even-par 73 effort on Sunday, finds himself on the edge.

Johnson won here last year in pristine conditions after a poor showing on Sunday, but had his game on track. He was hitting fairways and greens, something he was unable to do on Sunday.

Zach had hit 100% of both fairways, and greens on Saturday, and missed the first fairway on Sunday. He escaped with par, but fell into deep doo-doo on the par five fifth. He made a double bogey at arguably the easiest hole on the course. He lost three strokes to the field, and spent the rest of the day digging himself out of the crater it created.

If the wind comes up, I think you can count him out!

Wrap Up

The great perk for being retired is, being able to watch these Monday finishes without taking a sick day from work. And this promises to be a good one!

In my heart of hearts, I guess I’m hoping for a little wind on Monday afternoon. That would shake this field up a little, and produce a wild finish. With the cast of characters at the top of the leaderboard, we could get a fantastic finish anyway.

Here’s hoping!