As players unveil new equipment for the upcoming year, there is always a lot of equipment news at The Sentry. Among those with new clubs in the bag was Hideki Matsuyama, who set a new record at The Sentry by utilising a brand-new Scotty Cameron prototype.
Matsuyama utilised the new center-shafted blade putter for the first time this week. Shortly after Christmas, he got it after admiring the appearance in someone else’s bag. Matsuyama won by three shots at The Sentry, finishing third in Strokes Gained: Putting. A PGA TOUR record for the lowest 72-hole score relative to par was set with his 35-under 257 total.
“This is where I first used the putter. It went in, although I’m not sure why it worked so well.” Matsuyama said in his winner’s press conference.
Matsuyama didn’t comment on who he first spotted using the putter, saying it was “just somebody that nobody knows.”
The Sentry was his 11th TOUR victory, coming after a stellar 2024 in which he took home the Olympic bronze and won the FedExCup Playoffs event (the FedEx St. Jude Championship) and a Signature Event (the Genesis Invitational).
“I had them make one after I saw someone else using it and thinking, “Oh, this looks good.” I’m utilising it this week.” said Matsuyama. Matsuyama brought it to Maui along with four other putters, but it got a spot in the bag when it came to time to play.
Matsuyama has won after switching putters before ; in August, he won the FedEx St. Jude Championship after switching to a Scotty Cameron Craftsman Squareback Tour Prototype. This week in Maui, Matsuyama made a more significant move by switching to a Scotty Cameron 009 M Tour Prototype with a centre shaft.
Mastuyama finished The Sentry with 5.42 strokes gained on the greens in 2024, following a lacklustre season in which he ranked 121st in Strokes Gained: Putting. He one-putted 35 times and made putts totalling nearly 400 feet, including a 6-stroke run from Nos. 8–13 in the final round.
Although Matsuyama has played center-shafted putters before, it has been a long time since he had one in his bag. A Scotty Cameron Kombi S mallet with a centre shaft has been used by the Japanese celebrity in the past.
Matsuyama teed it up with a new Srixon Z-STAR XV9 golf ball in addition to the new putter. Srixon’s premiere ball has not yet been released in its 9th generation.
With businesses aiming to produce putters with minimal torque, center-shafted putters have returned to the PGA Tour. Towards the end of 2024, new face-balanced designs were released by L.A.B., Callaway, and Bettinardi. Alignment is made easier and the weight is distributed more evenly across the face when the shaft is centred.
Center-shafted putters have made a comeback to the PGA Tour as companies strive to create putters with as little torque as possible. L.A.B., Callaway, and Bettinardi all produced new face-balanced designs towards the end of 2024. Centring the shaft facilitates alignment and more evenly distributes the weight across the face.
Despite winning this week in Hawaii to begin the season, Matsuyama is known for being erratic with his putters. We’ll be keeping an eye on this one to see how long it stays in the bag.
