Hideki Matsuyama has had a great professional career on the PGA Tour. He has eight of his wins in the pros, including winning the 2021 Masters Tournament to earn the green jacket.
The Ehime, Japan native has earned over $45 million over his career. But he has missed one thing every year. Hole in one.
That drought finally ended Thursday at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Matsuyama bounced his service ace on the par-3 8th hole on the Torrey Pines South Course.
His perfect tee shot moved him to 7 under par for the tournament. He birdied the next hole, the par-5 ninth, to move within two strokes of the lead currently held by Thomas Detrie and Nikolai Hujgaard.
Matsuyama started his 2024 season a little later this week.
Although he played in each of the past two tournaments, he finished 58th at The Sentry and earned a T30 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
The PGA Tour veteran started the week with a 6-under 66 on the North Course on Wednesday. A strong performance this weekend is a welcome sight and will help him move up the FedEx Cup standings.
So far, Torrey Pines has been dominated by international players. As the second day of competition draws to a close, eight of the top 10 players on the leaderboard are foreign-born.
Matsuyama will aim for his first Marquis victory since the Masters. If he has a strong weekend, that could happen.
Kendall Capps is the senior editor of SB Nation's Playing Through.For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough On all major social media platforms.
