Zürcher Nachrichten - Matsuyama shuns LIV, commits to PGA Tour on eve of Zozo defence

EUR -
AED 4.325007
AFN 82.242498
ALL 97.861399
AMD 452.456982
ANG 2.107236
AOA 1079.744921
ARS 1461.909869
AUD 1.797604
AWG 2.122399
AZN 2.006382
BAM 1.954671
BBD 2.376677
BDT 144.396598
BGN 1.955486
BHD 0.443838
BIF 3506.77453
BMD 1.177475
BND 1.499102
BOB 8.134129
BRL 6.381095
BSD 1.177095
BTN 100.459829
BWP 15.590995
BYN 3.852093
BYR 23078.508139
BZD 2.364434
CAD 1.602537
CDF 3397.015527
CHF 0.934174
CLF 0.028542
CLP 1095.275848
CNY 8.437084
CNH 8.437609
COP 4709.946719
CRC 594.444035
CUC 1.177475
CUP 31.203085
CVE 110.201349
CZK 24.649307
DJF 209.261303
DKK 7.462017
DOP 70.447814
DZD 152.345163
EGP 58.120021
ERN 17.662124
ETB 163.360876
FJD 2.63725
FKP 0.862468
GBP 0.862742
GEL 3.203192
GGP 0.862468
GHS 12.182705
GIP 0.862468
GMD 84.19399
GNF 10209.103348
GTQ 9.05058
GYD 246.269849
HKD 9.242978
HNL 30.754237
HRK 7.533842
HTG 154.547454
HUF 398.545235
IDR 19066.851138
ILS 3.939761
IMP 0.862468
INR 100.67593
IQD 1541.976634
IRR 49601.130791
ISK 142.404269
JEP 0.862468
JMD 187.881482
JOD 0.834876
JPY 170.14454
KES 152.083112
KGS 102.970633
KHR 4729.268433
KMF 492.184923
KPW 1059.684191
KRW 1604.7339
KWD 0.359472
KYD 0.981033
KZT 611.295774
LAK 25364.811057
LBP 105466.644517
LKR 353.166016
LRD 236.008673
LSL 20.705941
LTL 3.476778
LVL 0.712243
LYD 6.340338
MAD 10.565398
MDL 19.828127
MGA 5296.828156
MKD 61.513502
MMK 2472.287743
MNT 4225.230904
MOP 9.517503
MRU 46.719016
MUR 52.927943
MVR 18.137516
MWK 2041.238342
MXN 21.94042
MYR 4.970167
MZN 75.311739
NAD 20.705501
NGN 1801.4664
NIO 43.314982
NOK 11.864285
NPR 160.730751
NZD 1.9446
OMR 0.452721
PAB 1.17712
PEN 4.173989
PGK 4.862192
PHP 66.473762
PKR 334.151398
PLN 4.24229
PYG 9380.382844
QAR 4.302215
RON 5.057495
RSD 117.165863
RUB 92.73008
RWF 1692.122651
SAR 4.415637
SBD 9.816519
SCR 16.618563
SDG 707.078009
SEK 11.259445
SGD 1.500461
SHP 0.92531
SLE 26.434748
SLL 24691.064337
SOS 672.697176
SRD 44.019944
STD 24371.353222
SVC 10.300051
SYP 15309.563345
SZL 20.688996
THB 38.138847
TJS 11.447388
TMT 4.132937
TND 3.429546
TOP 2.757769
TRY 46.973129
TTD 7.983219
TWD 34.059055
TZS 3116.429941
UAH 49.091645
UGX 4222.471502
USD 1.177475
UYU 47.242713
UZS 14781.46241
VES 128.902304
VND 30813.929528
VUV 140.274476
WST 3.063467
XAF 655.578346
XAG 0.031771
XAU 0.000353
XCD 3.182185
XDR 0.815468
XOF 655.578346
XPF 119.331742
YER 285.125976
ZAR 20.743081
ZMK 10598.691339
ZMW 28.514925
ZWL 379.146439
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

Matsuyama shuns LIV, commits to PGA Tour on eve of Zozo defence
Matsuyama shuns LIV, commits to PGA Tour on eve of Zozo defence / Photo: Takashi AOYAMA - AFP

Matsuyama shuns LIV, commits to PGA Tour on eve of Zozo defence

Hideki Matsuyama said Tuesday that he was fully to playing on the US PGA Tour as he prepares to defend his title at this week's Zozo Championship in his native Japan.

Text size:

Matsuyama, who became Japan's first male major winner at the US Masters last year, will face a field including Tokyo Olympic champion Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and rising South Korean Kim Joo-hyung as the US PGA Tour returns to Narashino Country Club.

Several top stars including two-time major winner Dustin Johnson and British Open champion Cameron Smith have defected from the US PGA Tour to Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which offers huge prize purses.

The PGA Tour has banned LIV golfers from competing in their events and world number 19 Matsuyama said he had no intention of joining the rebel circuit.

"I'm a member of the PGA Tour -- the players who left did so because they thought it was the right thing to do, so I can't say anything about them," said the 30-year-old, who won last year's Zozo Championship title with a stunning eagle on the final hole.

"I am playing on the PGA Tour and I want to continue doing my best here."

The US PGA Tour arrived in Japan days after LIV Golf held its first $25 million event in Asia in Bangkok.

The breakaway circuit is smarting from an announcement that players competing in Bangkok and its season-ending event in Jeddah would not receive world ranking points, despite a co-sanctioning agreement with the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Tour.

The OWGR (Official World Golf Rankings) which awards points said it had been given insufficient notice and needed to conduct a review of LIV Golf's events, the latest chapter in a bitter civil war which has torn golf apart and sparked accusations of Saudi "sportswashing".

Big-hitting American Bryson DeChambeau, a LIV player, said the failure to award ranking points was "delaying the inevitable".

- Tiger landmark -

Matsuyama offered his sympathies to LIV players but said resolving the matter was unlikely to be easy.

"I think it's fine to award them, but I think it's difficult considering how it would be viewed by the other tours," Matsuyama said.

Norway's world number 11 Viktor Hovland said LIV players should not "just get points overnight".

"If you want to get world ranking points, you have to follow the process," he told reporters at Narashino Country Club.

"At the same time, they have some really good players over there and if some of those players drop outside the top 100 players in the world, that's not good for the world rankings either."

The $11 million Zozo Championship was established in 2019 as the first US PGA Tour tournament in Japan.

Thousands of Japanese fans turned up to watch Tiger Woods win the inaugural title for his 82nd US PGA Tour victory -- equalling Sam Snead's 54-year-old record.

The tournament was held in California in 2020 because of the pandemic but returned to Japan last year in front of limited spectators.

There are no attendance restrictions this year and Matsuyama said he was looking forward to the home support.

"It's great to be back as the defending champion," he said.

"I've really been impressed the last couple of days, they were practice days but still lots of people came out and cheered us on, and I know there are going to be even more come Thursday and over the weekend.

"Hopefully I can play my best and give everyone something to root for."

A.Senn--NZN