I'm not hitting it as well as I'd like - Matsuyama out of sorts ahead of Masters

World number four Hideki Matsuyama

Hideki Matsuyama appeared short of confidence as he assessed his expectations and ambitions for this year's Masters.

Matsuyama started the season brilliantly with wins at the WGC – HSBC Champions and Hero World Challenge – an unofficial event hosted by Tiger Woods – and second-placed finishes at the CIMB Classic and SBS Tournament of Champions, aiding his surge up to fourth in the world.

The Japanense secured his fourth PGA Tour victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February, but has since disappointed at a pair of WGC events and the Arnold Palmer Invitational after missing the cut at the Genesis Open.

With his form having slipped heading into Augusta, Matsuyama simply hopes to make it to Sunday and be "satisfied" with his performance.

"Compared to last November and December, my game isn't at that same level right now," Matsuyama told a media conference on Tuesday.

"However, since the Match Play championship in Austin, I've been working hard and seeing some improvement. That's one of the reasons I'm really looking forward to this week to see how my game stands up.

"I've been working on my short game a lot. Almost too much, because my longer shots, iron shots, drivers, have suffered a bit. And because of that, I've gone back to the full swing now and working a lot more on that than I have been.

"I'm really not hitting it as well as I would like. So whether or not my confidence level is where it should be, I'm not sure.

"But one thing I am looking forward to is for the bells to ring on Thursday and see how I do. I hope I can play a lot better than I have been the last couple weeks.

"This is the first major of the year and I've put a lot of energy, a lot of work into preparing for this week, and hopefully on Sunday, when I walk off the 18th green, I can be satisfied with how I played."

Matsuyama will tee it up with Russell Knox and Rickie Fowler on Thursday and Friday.