Report: Hideki Matsuyama will snub LIV Golf in favour of PGA Tour
Hideki Matsuyama has reportedly committed his future to the PGA Tour amid speculation he would be unveiled as a LIV Golf signee after the Tour Championship.
Hideki Matsuyama has reportedly committed his future to the PGA Tour, amid speculation he will be unveiled with Cameron Smith as a LIV Golf signee after the Tour Championship.
Matsuyama has been consistently linked with the mega money series. There have been reports that he has been offered a deal worth twice as much as Phil Mickelson.
That is because the Japanese golfer, who won the 2021 Masters, is a needle mover for the game in Asia. Make no mistake, it would be a hammer blow to the PGA Tour if he were to leave.
Related: Why the PGA Tour must keep hold of Hideki Matsuyama
According to the No Laying Up podcast, Matsuyama has made a decision over his future.
"All indications that we have gotten from everyone involved in the Tour; every player, every agent and everyone we have spoken to in the last week, every sponsor, has said they believe that Hideki will be committed to the PGA Tour despite not being in this meeting," it was said on the podcast.
Now you might think that a report like this may need to be taken with a pinch of salt. But they were previously bang on the money when speculation was swirling about Bryson DeChambeau's future way back in February.
We all know how that turned out.
RUMOUR: Hideki Matsuyama offered $400 million to join LIV Golf
https://t.co/UDfK1jgCLr— GolfMagic.com (@GolfMagic) July 25, 2022
Curiously, 30-year-old Matsuyama was not involved in the much-talked about "meeting" that was spearheaded by Tiger Woods.
In the days since, it has been revealed that Woods and Rory McIlroy presented dramatic proposals that would see a "tour within the tour" with lucrative, $20million tournaments held for the game's top 60 players.
Australian Smith was also not at the meeting. Neither was Sungjae Im.
Related: The surprising LIV-linked star at Tiger meeting
Elsewhere, Woods and McIlroy have launched TMRW Sports. They have pledged to take golf into the "digital future".