Beware the injured golfer: Hideki Matsuyama ready to challenge for FedExCup glory

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama launches his quest for FedExCup glory at the TOUR Championship at East Lake hoping to live up to the old saying: "Beware the injured golfer."

The 10-time PGA TOUR winner withdrew before the start of the second round at the BMW Championship last week due to a lower back problem.

The FedEx St. Jude Championship winner Matsuyama, who rode a hot putter to capture the first FedExCup Playoffs event, will start the Playoffs finale in Atlanta at 7-under under the FedExCup Starting Strokes format. Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will begin at 10-under.

“If it was just a casual round of golf where the score was irrelevant, I would have been fine to go out and play (at the BMW Championship)," said Matsuyama ahead of the TOUR Championship. "But I was also down with a cold, and my neck and lower back weren’t 100%. I didn’t feel like playing the second, third and fourth rounds was something I needed to do.

“My back is feeling a little better, but still maybe only 50% or 60%. So it’s still something in the back of my mind."

Matsuyama retained his third-ranked position in the FedExCup despite his withdrawal, and with a few days of rest and rehab, the 32-year-old hopes he can produce a herculean effort to overcome his back issues and deliver a first FedExCup win for Asia. Korea’s Sungjae Im currently holds the best finish by an Asian golfer in the FedExCup with a T2 in 2022; Matsuyama's best finish is a T4 in 2018.

The Japanese star joked with media that he may be 100 strokes behind world No. 1 and gold medalist Scheffler in accumulated scores this season: “I’m starting three back of the lead, so I’m hoping to make up that ground," Matsuyama said. "But first things first, I hope I can just get up onto the first tee and be competitive over the four days."

This will be Matsuyama’s 10th appearance in 11 seasons at East Lake, but first on the newly restored course.

“A few of the holes have gotten longer, but No. 8 is actually playing a bit shorter," he explained. "There are a number of new tee shots with some difficult angles, and the greens are new and still quite firm. Without a good tee shot and leaving yourself in a good position in the fairway, it could play pretty tough. If I can play through that, I feel good about my chances."