Hideki Matsuyama disqualified from the Memorial for equipment violation

DUBLIN, Ohio – Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from the 2022 Memorial Tournament midway through Thursday’s first round.

Matsuyama, who won his first PGA Tour title here in 2014 and won his first major championship at the 2021 Masters, was informed on the 10th tee that he was disqualified for an equipment violation.

Matsuyama declined to comment.

“Our committee became aware through some pictures that were posted that there may be a substance that has been painted on the face of one of Hideki’s clubs. Unfortunately, when we found out about it, Hideki was playing the second hole,” said Steve Rintoul, chief referee of the PGA Tour for the tournament.

“Hideki, are you carrying this club?”

“Yes.”

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“Have you used this club? Because if he hasn’t used the club, it’s OK to carry a nonconforming club, you just can’t use it.”

“Well, the poor guy has played one hole, and he managed to use it off the first tee,” Rintoul said. “At that point, without jumping to too much conclusion with the club and what exactly what was done to the club, I met Hideki at the fifth tee. The damage was done. One shot and it’s a disqualification.

“So I said just keep playing. We’ll do our due diligence with this club with the USGA, the equipment standards guys and our committee, to ascertain that we come up with the right result here.”

On the fifth hole, Rintoul took detailed pictures of the club. Rintoul regrouped with other rules officials and the DQ came through rule 4.a.(3) of the equipment rules.

“A substance or any treatment can’t be applied to the face of a club which could influence the flight of the ball, the spin, the loft or anything on the ball, how the ball performs.”

“The pictures were damning,” Rintoul said. “It’s very much like a whiteout you might use on a paper. A whiteout substance that was very much up on the face of the club which, really, it’s very clear in the equipment rules that’s not allowed.

“So not being allowed renders a club nonconforming. Now we go back into the rules of golf themselves and out of the equipment rules, and the rules of golf clearly state under rule 4.1.a. that the use of a nonconforming club is a disqualification.”

The rules committee were sent pictures of Matsuyama’s clubface at 1 p.m. by someone Rintoul would only identify as a person in the golf industry.

“The equipment rules are very specific; it’s OK to have very small discrete markings on your face for alignment purposes like a Sharpie dot here and there that aren’t going to influence the ball. But that much substance is clearly above what the equipment rules allow,” Rintoul said.

Matsuyama made three bogeys in his first nine holes and would have made the turn in 3-over 38.

Earlier in the round, Matsuyama had perhaps the day’s biggest highlight. On the second hole, his approach bounded off a slope guarding the green and inexplicably came to rest on a slim bridge.

Follow Steve DiMeglio on Twitter @Steve_DiMeglio

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Memorial Tournament: Hideki Matsuyama DQ'ed for equipment violation