Hideki Matsuyama: Ball hit by 2021 Masters champion lands in spectator’s shirt
By John Sinnott, CNN
It’s par for the course for a golfer’s shot to occasionally land in a water hazard or the rough, but Hideki Matsuyama’s drive ended up in a spectator’s shirt at The Northern Trust tournament on Friday.
“It went between my legs, hit my knee, and somehow rolled up into my shirt,” the spectator explained on a microphone caught by the PGA Tour at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The 2021 Masters champion Matsuyama gave the ball to the spectator after signing it, though the Japanese golfer bogeyed the hole after taking a free drop.
World No. 1 Jon Rahm, who is the reigning US Open champion, sits atop the leaderboard with a one-stroke lead after firing a four-under par 67 in Friday’s second round.
“Believe it or not, hit my fair share of bad shots today,” the 26-year-old Rahm told the PGA Tour website. “Much like yesterday [Thursday], I was able to save a couple of good ones … Coming into the weekend, I’m definitely going to have to clean a couple of those mistakes up.”
Storm Henri
The Northern Trust is the PGA Tour’s first FedEx Cup playoff event.
The FedEx Cup sees player accrue ranking points throughout the season with the top 125 taking part in the first playoff.
The field is whittled down with a final 70 players competing at the Tour Championship in Atlanta in September, where the FedExCup Champion wins $15 million.
The Northern Trust tournament’s final round on Sunday could be rescheduled to Monday due to Storm Henri.
“We are closely monitoring Tropical Storm Henri and its potential impacts on The Northern Trust,” said the PGA TOUR in statement on its website on Friday.
“We will evaluate the track of Henri throughout the day tomorrow [Saturday] and expect to issue the plan and schedule for the final round by late afternoon Saturday.
“Henri is not currently predicted to have any effect on the forecast for Monday. Depending on the forecasted track of the storm, it is possible that the final round may be rescheduled for Monday,” added the statement.
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