Mar 27 (newsonjapan.com) - Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama is looking to win his opening major championship in 2018 and he will have his first opportunity to do that at the US Masters next month at Augusta in Georgia.
Matsuyama had the best season of his career in the 2016/17 campaign as he landed three victories to finish fourth on the PGA Tour money list. The season started with success in the WGC-HSBC Champions, in which he became the first Asian player to land a World Golf Championship victory.
In February he defended his title in the Waste Management Phoenix Open where he needed a play-off to see off Webb Simpson. The Japanese star found a birdie at the fourth extra hole to win the title for the second year running in Scottsdale, Arizona.
A second WGC victory arrived for Matsuyama in August last year as he was dominant in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. The 26 year old produced a stunning round of 61 on the final day to prevail by five strokes ahead of Zach Johnson.
Matsuyama will feel he is one of the leading contenders for the Green Jacket at Augusta next month as he went close in all four major championships in 2017. In the US Open in June, he had to settle for second place behind Brooks Koepka. His best Masters finish to date came in 2015 where he was fifth in the field. A victory in Georgia will help him rise further towards the number one spot in the world rankings.
Grand National Takes Centre Stage In International Horse Racing
The Grand National takes place next month from Aintree Racecourse which is just outside of Liverpool, England. As ever, a huge audience in Japan is likely to tune into the steeplechase and place a bet on what is regarded as the most popular national hunt contest from around the world.
Total Recall currently heads the ante-post market for the race at 10/1 and is sure to be popular with punters betting on the race, especially those who will be taking advantage of the free bets Grand National offers available on the 4m2f contest. With the showpiece race so unpredictable, something like Paddy Power's £20 risk-free bet would protect a punter's investment. The Irish horse is trained by Willie Mullins who won the race back in 2005 with Hedgehunter.
Unfortunately last year's winner One For Arthur will not line up in the field in 2018 as an injury has ruled him out for the rest of the 2017/18 campaign. The runner up last April, Cause of Causes, will get his chance to go one place better though and he is rated as a 20/1 shot by the bookmakers. He could not defend his crown in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival earlier this month, however, connections will be confident of a big run over the big fences again at Aintree.
Blaklion is another horse which has been tipped to run a big race again. Nigel Twiston- Davies' runner was fourth in 2017 and has already scored over the Grand National fences this season as he won the Becher Handicap Chase back in December.
If you want to watch the race next month it takes place on April 15 at 02:15 JST.
