2021 Texas Open: Top 10 power rankings at TPC San Antonio

It looked like Hideki Matsuyama was inching back to his winning ways when he finished T-2nd at the Houston Open back in November. Here’s to hoping the 29-year-old Japanese star can build on that now that he’s back in the Lone Star state.

Matsuyama made his next four cuts after that as well as five of the next seven, but he’s failed to finish higher than T-15th (WGC-Workday) in 2021. He did, however, finish T-18th recently at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, so he’s not too far off.

This will be his Texas Open debut.

Matsuyama went 1-2-0 last week at the WGC-Match Play and did not advance past the group stage. He smoked Carlos Ortiz 4&3 before losing 1UP to eventual quarterfinalist, Brian Harman, and 4&2 to the group’s top seed, Patrick Cantlay.

It’s beating a dead horse, but if Matsuyama can just roll in some putts, he should do well here at TPC San Antonio.

He’s 20th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained tee to green (1.018 per round) to go with 32nd in SG around the green (.309).

The Oaks course has some tough par-5s, but that’s where Matsuyama makes his money. He’s 23rd on the PGA Tour in par-5 scoring average (4.52).

I’m not overly bullish on Matsuyama, but his talent stands out against a weak field. I like for his ball striking to hold up well in the wind and deliver him a much-needed top-10.

The five-time PGA Tour winner has gone four years without a W, so you know he’s hungry.