Matsuyama drawing attention for Tiger-like winning streak

By Jason Sobel for ESPN.com.

NASSAU, Bahamas — Comparisons to legends are rarely fair, and comparisons to a legend that dominated this week’s news cycle and handed over the trophy as tournament host are even less so.

And yet, there was Hideki Matsuyama, just minutes removed from winning the Hero World Challenge for his fourth worldwide title in his past five starts, trying to deflect any comparison to the winning ways Tiger Woods once brought to the game.

“I’m not even close to being mentioned in the same sentence as Tiger,” he acknowledged through an interpreter, “but I am working hard and hopefully, little by little, I’ll get better and better.”

Let’s not lose the plot here: Matsuyama isn’t the next Woods, won’t be the next Woods and shouldn’t be held to the standard of serving as the next Woods. That goes not only for him, but each of the game’s elite 20-something players — from Rory McIlroy to Jordan Spieth to Jason Day.

It’s noteworthy, though, that Matsuyama has joined those players and others on the list of guys who can at least put on a pretty strong Tiger impersonation on any given week.

He entered Sunday’s round leading by a whopping 7 strokes, and while many observers will only recall Woods’ dominance during his prime years, there were plenty of occasions when he simply played final-round defense, parlaying a wide 54-hole margin into a victory that looked relatively close on the final leaderboard, but not on the course.

Matsuyama isn’t that type of finisher — nobody is — which might explain his final-round, 1-over 73 that relied on a brilliant chip shot from behind the 18th green to save par in order to secure the 2-stroke triumph over Henrik Stenson.

Already a three-time PGA Tour champion at age 24, including last month’s WGC-HSBC Champions tournament — Matsuyama is learning to win right before our eyes. Hideki Matsuyama didn’t run away with the Hero World Challenge, but he held on for the victory Sunday in the Bahamas.

It undoubtedly has something to do with an increased comfort level while playing on the U.S.-based circuit. Ever since a 27th-place finish as an amateur at the Masters Tournament five years ago, Matsuyama has often been followed by a large media contingent from his native Japan. Even without a language barrier, he’s preternaturally shy, previously unaccustomed to being the center of attention.

As one Japanese reporter said during his Memorial Tournament victory two years ago, “He doesn’t speak much English, but he doesn’t speak much Japanese, either.”

There has been a learning curve in living in that spotlight.

“When I first turned pro and came to the PGA Tour, the Japanese media would ask me questions after every round, whether I played good or bad,” he said. “At first, it was difficult for me and I felt a lot of pressure, but then I learned that talking with the media is just part of my job as a professional golfer. Once I realized that, it became easier and I didn’t feel that pressure.”

His responses to questions about himself and the state of his game are much like those of any other elite-level golfer these days. He doesn’t allow much, but says all the right things.

On perhaps already being the greatest golfer from Japan: “There’s been some great golfers in Japan. Just to name a few, Jumbo Ozaki, Isao Aoki, Shigeki Maruyama, Tsuneyuki Nakajima. And to be able to follow in their footsteps is a great honor. And then to come to the PGA Tour and learn from really the best golfers in the world, it’s really helped my game. I’m grateful for all of their help. But to answer your question, I’m not the greatest golfer from Japan.”

On whether he expected to win so many events in such a short time: “I’m very surprised at these last five events and I just hope I can keep it going.”

On trying to win his first major championship: “Starting next week, all my focus and preparation will be for the Masters. Hopefully, along the way I can play well on the PGA Tour, but the Masters is my next goal.”

Matsuyama told a little story after his Sunday win, too. The first time he ever watched Woods was that 1997 Masters victory. He was 5 years old then, and he videotaped the broadcast so he could watch it over and over.

He’s certainly not the next Tiger Woods. Nobody is. But the way Matsuyama has been winning — and the way he won this tournament on Sunday — certainly served as a reminder of the guy who handed him the trophy.