Dein erstes Forum » to get to 5 under. Colonial is one

SHANGHAI -- No one from Japan has more than Hideki Matsuyamas three PGA Tour victories. No one from Japan ever won a World Golf Championship.None of this might have been possible if Matsuyama had never left home so quickly.Even after he blew away a world-class field in the HSBC Champions to reach No. 6 in the world, the 24-year-old Matsuyama was not comfortable being mentioned with the five players ahead of him in the ranking or other Japanese players before his time.That starts with Jumbo Ozaki, who won more than 100 tournaments and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame five years ago.But theres one big difference.Ozaki rarely played outside the Japan Golf Tour. His only victory away from home was the 1972 New Zealand PGA Championship. Matsuyama stopped playing a full Japanese schedule after one year, instead coming to America to see how he stacked up against the best.His first PGA Tour victory in 2014 at the Memorial led tournament host Jack Nicklaus to say, I think youve just seen the start of whats going to be truly one of your worlds great players over the next 10 to 15 years.Matsuyama won the Phoenix Open in a playoff over Rickie Fowler earlier this year. And then he played the final 45 holes at Sheshan International for a seven-shot victory Sunday over British Open champion Henrik Stenson and Daniel Berger to become the first Asian to win a World Golf Championship.If I would have just stayed in Japan, I dont think my golf game would have improved as much as it has, Matsuyama said. I needed to go out. I needed to go to America. Winning this week proves to me that I did make the right decision, and it gives me more motivation to win more.Told he was No. 6 in the world, Matsuyama paused from signing tournament flags and said with a smile, That makes me very happy.He speaks limited English, though he understands enough, and so when he heard words suggesting he was No. 1 in Japan, he stopped what he was doing.I dont feel that I am the No. 1 player in Japan, he said. There are so many greats that have paved the way, that have enabled me to be where Im at today.Early in his career, Matsuyama played in Japan with Ozaki. He said he didnt fully grasp Ozakis feats until much later, and believes the legend he calls Jumbo-san has established a standard that no one will ever touch.At least in Japan.Around the world, Matsuyama has been making his mark long before his victory in Shanghai.He won the Asia Amateur in 2010 by five shots to earn a spot in the 2011 Masters, made the cut at Augusta National and tied for 27th. Later that year, at 19 and still going to college, he won the Taiheiyo Masters, one of the top tournaments in Japan. Matsuyama also won another Asia Amateur, and then made another cut at the Masters.Once he finished his college degree in Japan, he won four times as a rookie and finished the year at No. 23 in the world, one spot behind American rookie Jordan Spieth. Perhaps the reason he never received enough attention was that Japan didnt have a history of success away from home.Now it does.He said winning the Memorial showed me that I can compete with some of the best players in the world. The Phoenix Open was validation.And then todays win proves to me I can compete with everyone, he said. It will give me great confidence going forward, especially in the majors.Thats the next stop, and its one reason he wont put himself in the same class as the five players ahead of him in the world ranking -- Jason Day at No. 1, followed by Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Stenson and Spieth. All of them have won majors.Matsuyama finished fifth and seventh at the Masters the past two years. He was in the mix at Muirfield in the 2013 British Open his rookie year before tying for sixth. He shot all four rounds in the 60s at Baltusrol and tied for fourth in the PGA Championship this year.Im thrilled to be No. 6 in the world, he said. But being on the same level as those other players, Ive got to win a lot more to be considered with them.Still to come is the World Cup later this month with Ryo Ishikawa, his close friend who has returned from back injury with five straight top 10s, including a victory. Matsuyama will never face the scrutiny of Ishikawa, who won a Japan Golf Tour event as a 15-year-old amateur and for years received the kind of rock-star treatment at home that only Tiger Woods could appreciate.What makes them different is their youth. Ishikawa is only five months older.All the great players before me came to the United States when they were in their 30s, Matsuyama said. Both of us have come earlier. If theres a difference, its the age we came to the U.S.Its a different path, indeed. But its working. Vitaly Potapenko Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Cleveland Cavaliers Gear . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. https://www.cheapcavaliers.com/ .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. John Henson Jersey . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Roy Hinson Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery.FORT WORTH, Texas -- Ryan Palmer was standing in the fairway on his last hole Thursday when his longtime caddie and fellow Colonial member issued a challenge. James Edmondson, who won his third Colonial club championship last year, told Palmer that a birdie would match the caddies low round at Hogans Alley. "What do you do when you get that thrown at you," Palmer said. Palmer hit his approach to 5 feet at the 388-yard ninth hole for an 8-under 62 that matched the lowest PGA Tour first round at Colonial. That put him a stroke ahead of John Rollins, who had his best round this season. For all the rounds Palmer has played at Colonial, where he has been a full dues-paying member since 2010, he had never had such a low score. He generally plays there two or three times a week during the off-season and once or twice during weeks hes not playing the PGA Tour. "These old men here make me grind because I have to give them so many shots. Maybe that helps," Palmer said, smiling. "Usually in a practice round, I dont think Ive shot below 65. You just dont grind a lot. In this situation, you grind a little harder. You are able to focus more. When Im out here with the guys, I mean half the time I might grab a few (beers) for the back nine." Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., wearing pants with a plaid design similar to the jacket Colonial winners get, matched David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Morgan Hoffmann and John Peterson at 64. Matt Kuchar, No. 13 in the world ranking and the highest-ranked player in the 136-man invitational field, was in a group of six players at 65. Rollins, who like Palmer lives in nearby Colleyville, has playing privileges at Colonial like other PGA Tour players though he doesnt play the 7,204-yard layout nearly as much as Palmer. "Hes a pretty permanent fixture in the mens group and everything that goes on out here," Rollins said. Palmer, the former Texas A&M player who has three PGA Tour victories, had a bogey-free round, hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation, with his first birdie putt being his longest. He was still even par until his 17-footer on his fifth hole, the 442-yard 14th, that started his stretch of four consecutive birdies. The only other birdie over 10 feet was a 14-footer at the 391-yard sixth hole. "Its pretty neat. A lot of fun," Palmer said. "Being a member here, we played it so many times, James annd I.dddddddddddd. I felt comfortable over every tee shot. I hit driver almost everywhere that I could. I drove it perfectly today I felt. I hit it close a lot and made a lot of putts from about 5 or 6 feet. ... (Playing partner) Brian Stuards caddie even made a comment on how comfortable I was because Ive done it so many times." In his nine previous PGA Tour appearances at Colonial, Palmers only top 10 was a tie for fifth last year. He missed the cut in 2010, the same year he became a full member. Now he finally leads at Colonial after matching his best-ever round on the PGA Tour. "This is what I dream about when I play here every year," Palmer said. " This is the one tournament I gear up for the most." David Toms had an opening 62 when winning at Colonial two years ago. He was tied for the first-round lead that year with Chez Reavie. The only other opening 62 was Patrick Sheehans in 2005. The course record of 61 is shared by six players, the last Chad Campbell in 2004. Rollins only bogey came after his drive at the 431-yard 12th landed in a fairway bunker. But he quickly got that shot back at the 193-yard 13th hole when he hit his tee shot within 7 feet of the cup. Kuchars only bogey came at the 241-yard, par-3 fourth , the middle hole of Colonials famed "horrible horseshoe" because of the layout of a three-hole stretch where that par 3 is sandwiched by the two longest par 4s on the course. But he came right back with a 10-foot birdie at the 472-yard fifth to get to 5 under. Colonial is one of Kuchars favourite courses. Plus, the PGA Tours two-week visit to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the Byron Nelson Championship and the Colonial provides extra time for him to work with his Dallas-based swing coach. "I feel like I start coming along maybe the end of this week," Kuchar said. "Things get really clicking." Defending Colonial champion Zach Johnson shot 69, the 16th time in his last 17 rounds under par at Colonial. The lone exception in that five-year span, when he also won in 2010, was last years closing 72 that included a two-stroke penalty on the final hole. He had four bogeys and three birdies. "I think overall more positives than negatives. Im not going to dwell on too much here," Johnson said. "Its a fairly solid day, a day I didnt shoot myself out of it. I would have liked to have a couple of more birdies." ' ' '