Valero Texas Open: Mystery of Hideki Matsuyama Continues

Hideki Matsuyama has a world of talent. He showed that on Thursday in the first round of the Valero Texas Open when he shot a 5-under par 67. It was a round that included seven birdies and two bogeys.

After that round, Matsuyama was in the hunt in San Antonio. It looked like a round that he could build on as he entered the rest of the week.

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But on Friday, Matsuyama could not get anything going. His round was undone by a double bogey on the 12th hole and he never really recovered. At the end of the round, he had shot 74 and fallen off the pace.

Then on Saturday, that trend continued. He has an erratic front nine that included four bogeys, two birdies and three pars. Altogether, it added up to a 2-over par 38. He would end up shooting a 1-over par 73 and would fall 12 spots in the standings to a tie for 26th place.

Matsuyama has now gone more than 80 starts without a win on the PGA Tour. He was second last year at the Zozo Championship in his native Japan and was also second earlier this season at the Houston Open. But he can’t seem to get over the hump.

He has won five times on tour but none since 2017. That season, Matsuyama won three times, claiming titles at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the WGC-HSBC Champions. It appeared that he was on his way to super stardom at that point.

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The struggles continue for Matsuyama and it’s unclear why a player with so much talent doesn’t win more. Whatever the case, there’s still time because he’s only 29 years old. But Matsuyama seems to be wasting some of the prime years of his career with no wins.

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