Hideki Matsuyama

GREENSBORO, N.C.  – Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama has accepted a sponsor’s exemption and joined the field for next week’s Wyndham Championship, the tournament announced today.  The 74th annual Wyndham Championship is set for Aug. 12-18, 2013.

Matsuyama joins a field that also includes defending champion Sergio Garcia, reigning FedExCup champion and 2007 Wyndham winner Brandt Snedeker, 2011 Wyndham winner and 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, Wyndham winners Davis Love III, Carl Pettersson and K.J. Choi as well as major winners Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson, David Toms, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink, Mike Weir, Trevor Immelman and Ben Curtis and European stars Padraig Harrington, Martin Kaymer, Nicolas Colsaerts and Paul Casey.

A native and resident of Japan, Matsuyama needed a sponsor’s exemption because he is not a PGA TOUR member and does not have status on this tour.  Matsuyama is 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings and will play the Wyndham for the first time next week.  The 21-year-old Japan Tour golfer is having a breakthrough season with two wins and two runner-up finishes this year; he is a three-time Japan Tour winner.  He finished tied for 10th at the U.S. Open, tied for sixth at the British Open Championship, tied for 16th at the RBC Canadian Open and tied for 21st at last weekend’s Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championships event.  He has moved from 159th to 33rd in the Official World Golf Rankings this year.

“Hideki’s rapid rise in the world golf rankings speaks for itself,” Wyndham Championship tournament director Mark Brazil said.  “His phenomenal early-season success, with two wins and two runner-up finishes in Japan combined with his impressive play in his last four events, including top 10s in the last two majors, shows what an incredible talent Hideki is, and he is a major star in Japan.  He is playing like a top-10 player in the world right now, and we are thrilled that he will be with us next week at the Wyndham.”

Matsuyama won the Asian Amateur Championship in 2011 and ’12 and received an invitation to play the Masters as the Asian Amateur Champion. In 2011, he finished tied for 27th and received the prestigious Silver Cup for Low Amateur; he was the only amateur to make the cut that year.  He finished tied for 54th in 2012.

Contested annually on the Donald Ross-designed course at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., the Wyndham Championship was founded in 1938 and is the seventh-oldest event on the PGA TOUR.  Two-for-one good-any-day tickets are available for purchase at Piedmont Triad Harris Teeter locations with a VIC Card; other tickets are available at wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office.  The tournament thanks title sponsor Wyndham Worldwide, presenting sponsor BB&T and Premier Partners, Cadillac, Harris Teeter, McConnell Golf, Sunbrella®, Technology Concepts & Design, Inc. and VF Corporation for their continued support.  Additional tournament information, including ticket packages and sponsorship information, is available at wyndhamchampionship.com or through the tournament office at (336) 379-1570.  For more information about Wyndham Worldwide, please visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com.  Stay connected with the Wyndham Championship through its social media channels, including the Wyndham Championship Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Flickr and YouTube.

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Hideki Matsuyama


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