No sooner had Hideki Matsuyama made history in Shanghai than scrutiny intensified as to what, in Turkey, the golfing world may encounter next. For Matsuyama, the 24-year-old from Japan, a three-week run has returned $2.7m and will ensure he is ranked sixth in the world.
Matsuyama’s closing round of 66 at the WGC-HSBC Champions meant he cantered to a seven-stroke victory on 23 under par. In securing the biggest win of his career Matsuyama also became the first Asian winner of a World Golf Championship event.
The hope, of course, is such a victory resonates positively for the game in that region. “It’s a great victory for me,” Matsuyama said. “Hopefully this will be a great victory for Japan and encourage others to play golf. I was actually surprised when they announced I was the first Asian to win a WGC.
“I really don’t know why I played well this week. Over the last three years here I’ve had to withdraw twice and I didn’t play very well the other year.” Matsuyama now has a major in his sights. “Winning today I feel has got me closer to being able to compete a lot better in the major tournaments. So my next goal is, of course, to win a major and I’m going to do all that I can to prepare well for that.”
In endorsing a stunning change of fortunes Matsuyama recorded 29 birdies and did not make a bogey over his closing 45 tournament holes. Henrik Stenson and Daniel Berger shared second, the Open champion closing out with a 65.
As Matsuyama celebrated his win, Rory McIlroy confirmed he has withdrawn from the Turkish Airlines Open this week. Amid fears over security McIlroy answered: “I think it’s obvious,” when asked why he will not participate in Turkey.
Player unrest over the safety of the event has been known for some time, with regular promises made over the levels of security that will be on hand at the Regnum Carya Resort near Antalya. Clearly McIlroy has not been suitably convinced. The Northern Irishman added on Sunday that he had “slept much better” since removing his name from the entry list.
This marks both a blow to the event itself, which had earlier lost Tiger Woods for different reasons, and to the European Tour as it looks to promote its end-of-season final series. The field for Turkey is now notably weak. “We respect all decisions made by our members in relation to competing in tournaments,” a European Tour spokesperson said.
Speculation on Sunday surrounded the potential for further players to withdraw, with Patrick Reed among those thought to be considering their options.
The Ladies European Tour cancelled a tournament in Turkey in June and that was still a live option for the men’s equivalent, which has a $7m prize fund, as recently as the end of last week.
McIlroy’s core status aside, his move is even more striking as it could cost him the chance to defend successfully the European Tour’s order of merit, the Race to Dubai. With three events of the season left – of which McIlroy will play only one – he lies behind Stenson and Danny Willett in the rankings.
“The fact I’ve won the FedEx Cup this year and won the Race to Dubai before made the decision a little easier,” McIlroy said. “I guess it’s out of my hands.
“I took the decision not to go to Turkey next week. Those boys can battle it out. If I have somewhat of a chance going into Dubai, that’s great. If not, they’ve had big wins over the course of the season. They’ve played well, two major championships. I’m OK with that.”
