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The Masters: 10 dark horse golfers to win the Green Jacket

By Cameron La Fontaine

Apr 13, 2014; Augusta, GA, USA; A general view of lawn chairs along the 18th green during the final round of the 2014 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 13, 2014; Augusta, GA, USA; A general view of lawn chairs along the 18th green during the final round of the 2014 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jun 1, 2014; Dublin, OH, USA; Hideki Matsuyama celebrates after winning The Memorial Tournament in a sudden-death playoff at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 1, 2014; Dublin, OH, USA; Hideki Matsuyama celebrates after winning The Memorial Tournament in a sudden-death playoff at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports /

Hideki Matsuyama, Japan

Hideki Matsuyama is a young 23 year-old who is doing work on the PGA Tour this year shining with four top-five finishes, ready to pounce on a victory.

Last year, Matsuyama won his first PGA Tour event at Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament where he out-played Kevin Na on the first playoff hole.

This year, Matsuyama is playing well once again. He’s made 10 of the 11 cuts for tournaments he’s played in and has five top 10’s and two more finishes in the top-25. Matsuyama placed T-3 at the Frys.com PGA Tour season opener, T-10 at the Shriners Open, T-3 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, T-2 at the Phoenix Open, T-4 at the Northern Trust Open and he finished 2-over par T-23 last week at the Cadillac Championship.

I like Matsuyama to play really well this week after he played so well in major tournaments in 2013, his rookie season finishing T-10 in the U.S. Open, T-6 in the British Open and T-19 in the PGA Championship. 2014 wasn’t the same story in majors for Matsuyama but he still made 20 of 24 cuts and was successful in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship to end his season. He picked up where he left off and has shown that he has great potential in this 2015 season so far.

This guy is the future leader for Asian golfers on the PGA Tour who are becoming more and more successful as golf wildly develops in those countries.

He drives the ball a sharp 298 yards on average and is first on the PGA Tour in ball striking. He’s eighth in greens in regulation setting up birdie chances for himself consistently and ranks No. 1 on tour scrambling from the fringe, which will help him when he comes up short on some of these long daunting holes at Augusta National. And he also ranks third on tour in par four scoring average with his consistent ball striking.

Don’t be surprised if Matsuyama surprises people this year by being right at the top of the leaderboard despite missing the cut in the 2014 Masters. He’s poised to do well with his exceptional play this year and I like him as a dark horse candidate.

Next: Branden Grace

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