After an opening 64 at Accordia, local favorite Hideki Matsuyama declared his game to be a 1 out of 10. The 29-year-old is sure doing an admirable job of managing what he feels is less than his best, and after a steady round of 2-under 68 on Friday, he took the solo lead at 8 under. He had started the day trailing fellow Japanese player Hiroshi Iwata by one.
Iwata, however, followed a 63 with a 73 on Friday and dropped to a tie for seventh.
It was a relatively boring day for Matsuyama, who birdied Nos. 3, 13 and 18 and made his only bogey at No. 17.
“I’m in a good position,” Matsuyama said. “Looking forward to the weekend and do my best.”
Opponents certainly don’t consider Matsuyama as being a 1 out of 10 this week. Former Presidents Cup teammate Joaquin Niemann, who was tied for second with Matsuyama after the first round but dropped to T5 on Friday with a 71, is just trying to keep pace with him.
“He say he’s not playing his best golf; I think he’s playing pretty good,” he said. “It’s going to be fun. Hopefully we can play together. We played together at the Presidents Cup on the same team and it would be nice to get to know him better and play together. Also, it’s going to be fun to have him here in Japan with the crowds, so yeah, looking forward.”
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