It’s beach season in the US. All across America, people are shoving their toes in the sand, ready to forget their troubles for a few sunny hours of rest and relaxation.
Well, except for Hideki Matsuyama.
The 2021 Masters champion found himself marooned on a much less pleasant patch of sand Friday morning at the Wyndham Championship, when his ball buried in a bunker face inches below the lip.
He was able to find a stance, but that backfired in spectacular fashion as his escape attempt ricocheted off the lip and back into his footprint … twice.
We've all been there. pic.twitter.com/7wLWQz1rjj
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 4, 2023
As Kevin McCallister once said, “Buzz, your girlfriend, WOOF!”
By the time Matsuyama finally broke free, he was facing his sixth shot with a good chunk of meat left on the bone. Worse yet, Matsuyama’s bunker disaster essentially sealed a missed cut at the PGA Tour’s final event of the regular season.
Matsuyama currently sits 56th in the FedEx Cup rankings, with the top 70 qualifying for next week’s FedEx St Jude Championship.
He’s probably safe to make the playoffs, but Friday’s bunker meltdown puts a lot of pressure on Matsuyama if he wants to vault into the top 50 and qualify for the BMW Championship in two weeks’ time.
If Matsuyama hopes to be in the mix at Olympia Fields, he should probably avoid the beach for the next week or two.
