After a Twitter rant by Ian Poulter ripping him and calling him an “idiot,” Hideki Matsuyama apologized to the Englishman on Saturday morning for an outburst when the two were playing together on Friday.
Poulter, who played behind Matsuyama for the first two rounds, was taken aback when the 22-year-old from Japan damaged a green with his putter in an act of frustration and did not repair it during the second round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
On Friday night, Poulter sent out a series of tweets ripping Matsuyama for his conduct on the green, saying: “Playing with Matsuyama tomo. He buried his putter in the 13th green 5ft from the hole. Referee had to repair the crater. Because he didn’t.”
Another Poulter Twitter rant read: “Why should Matsuyama leave a crater in the green for others to putt over, or have to call to repair the damage. Idiot.”
When asked by a Twitter follower whether he would “speak to him like a man or just blast him on Twitter like all the other keyboard warriors,” Poulter replied, “I can’t wait to.”
Poulter added: “I’m no saint and first to say. But that was disgusting. I wouldn’t bury a putter in a green 5 ft from a hole and have players behind deal with it.”
On Saturday morning, Matsuyama approached Poulter on the practice range with an interpreter and apologized. Poulter explained to Matsuyama why he thought it was wrong and then acknowledged the apology. In an interesting twist, the two were paired together in Saturday’s third round after both finished 5-over par in the first two rounds.
Matsuyama, who has been a pro for less than a year and has three victories on the Japan Tour, earned his PGA Tour card last year and is ranked 22nd in the world.
Rory McIlroy, who has not won a PGA Tour tournament since 2012, is getting anxious to break through again. Despite having lost a three-round lead in the final round of last week’s Honda Classic, McIlroy has been in contention ion every event he has played this season, including his Australian Open victory in December.
“I think it’s definitely like a habit, I guess it’s like riding a bike,” he said. “The first few times you get back into contention, you have to get used to it again, but you know how to do it; it’s there. Once you do it enough, you get into the habit of it and the knack of it.”
Still, though, McIlroy is searching for his next win.
“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t anxious to get it, but … I realize I have to stay patient to get it,” he said. “So it’s just a matter of sort of managing your emotions and your expectations and your anxiousness and just trying to put all your energy into the round of golf that you play and know that four rounds of good golf are going to add up to maybe a win.”
McIlroy said it’s critical to maintain an even keel.
“[You must stay as] neutral as possible out here, especially in conditions like this, because you’re going to get bad breaks and you’re going to get good breaks. You just have to realize that and realize that some are going to go for you and some are going to go against you and at the end of the week, it should sort of all even out. That’s why you have to stay as patient as possible.”
Luke Donald, who is not ranked high enough for an automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team, said he’s seeking some strong tournament results to make the team.
“It takes one good week, a tournament like this, a win here, World Golf Championships, win a major, you’re in,” he said. “I don’t want to panic. I just want to keep playing well. How I feel about where my game is going, if I keep playing like I know I can play, then I’m not going to worry about it. I feel like if I keep doing what I’m doing, it will take care of itself.”
The Ryder Cup will be played in September at Gleneagles in Scotland.