Matsuyama DQ'd from Memorial Tournament for club violation
Hideki Matsuyama was disqualified from the Memorial Tournament on Thursday for a non-conforming club, the PGA TOUR announced.
Matsuyama was 3-over through nine holes in his first round when he was disqualified under Rule 4.1a.
The world No. 12-ranked golfer was carrying a club with white paint on its face, making it non-conforming. The paint was on the club to help with alignment, according to chief referee Steve Rintoul.
Chief Referee Steve Rintoul explains the full context behind Matsuyama's DQ. pic.twitter.com/6Oio4BhhpV
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2022
Players are allowed to carry clubs that are deemed non-conforming, but they can't use them. Matsuyama used the club on his first hole Thursday, according to Rintoul.
Matsuyama won the 2014 edition of the Memorial Tournament, held at Muirfield Village Golf Club, to grab his first career victory on TOUR.
Since then, the 30-year-old has won seven other TOUR events. Those include two World Golf Championship titles and the 2021 Masters, which made him the first male major champion from Japan.
He already has two wins on TOUR this season: the Zozo Championship in October and the Sony Open in January.