PGA Tour star Hideki Matsuyama cracks up over explanation to last-minute decision

PGA Tour star Hideki Matsuyama appeared to think it was amusing he changed putters before the first round of The Sentry for no reason at all. 

Matsuyama is no stranger to changing putters over the course of a season. 

Usually, the former Masters champion travels with five or six to each event. 

When he returned to the winner's circle last February at The Genesis Invitational, the golfer was using a Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS on the greens. 

And when he picked up his second victory of the season at the FedEx St. Jude Championship the winning putter was a Scotty Cameron Craftsman Squareback Tour Prototype. 

You might be thinking there is a multitude of reasons why Matsuyama constantly tinkers. 

This week, he's done the same again. 

Although he doesn't really know why. 

A reporter asked Matsuyama on Thursday afternoon after his opening round of 8-under 65 why he decided to change again this week. 

Stifling a laugh, he replied: "I don't know why."

Right... 

He added: "I saw somebody else using it and I thought, 'Oh, this looks good', so I had them make one, and I'm using it this week."

Here's a closer look at what he's using at Kapalua. 

It's clearly working. 

In round one, Matsuyama gained 2.115 strokes on the green.

After 18 holes, he was one stroke behind the earlier leader Tom Hoge, who fired a bogey-free 64 at the first signature event of the 2025 campaign. 

Elsewhere, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Young, Collin Morikawa and Tony Finau all made good starts. 

Patrick Cantlay was among those who were struggling at the bottom of the leaderboard. 

The Sentry is a no-cut event and will award the winner the top prize of $3.6m. 

See the full payouts here. 

Watched our latest YouTube video?