“He’s someone I admire” – Rickie Fowler lauds ‘rosckstar’ Hideki Matsuyama’s popularity in Japan
Hideki Matsuyama and Rickie Fowler are all set to compete at this week's PGA Tour event, Zozo Championship. The tournament is scheduled to start on Thursday, October 19, and will run through the weekend to conclude on Sunday, October 22.
Ahead of the commencement of the tournament, the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Champion, Fowler, spoke about Hideki. The American golfer said Hideki is a 'rockstar.'
As the Zozo Championship is taking place in Japan, the home soil of Matsuyama, Rickie is excited to see 'The Show of Hideki in Japan.' Speaking about the former Masters winner, Rickie Fowler said (via the PGA Tour):
"Hideki's a rock star over here. He's someone I admire as a person, as a player. It will be exciting to see the show of Hideki in Japan."
Rickie Fowler has been pretty impressive this season. He not only got into winning track but also competed at the Ryder Cup, representing the American team at the biennial tournament. Fans are excited to see Fowler at the 2023 Zozo Championship.
Rickie Fowler pairs up with Hideki Matsuyama for the first round at the 2023 Zozo Championship
The 2023 Zozo Championship is set to start with the first round on Thursday, October 19, at 7:45 p.m. ET. Golfers will tee off on the first and 10th holes at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Chiba, Japan.
Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama will tee off in a group with defending champion Keegan Bradley at 9:46 p.m. ET on the first tee hole.
David Lingmerth will start the game with Callum Tarren, and Yuki Inamori on the first tee hole at 7:45 p.m. ET while Satoshi Kodaira, Zac Blair and Harry Hall will tee off on the tenth hole.
Here are the pairings and tee times of the first round of the 2023 Zozo Championship (All-time ET):
1st tee
- 7:45 pm - David Lingmerth, Callum Tarren, Yuki Inamori
- 7:56 pm - Aaron Baddeley, Robby Shelton, Mikumu Horikawa
- 8:07 pm - Matt Wallace, Mackenzie Hughes, Joel Dahmen
- 8:18 pm - Lee Hodges, Adam Svensson, Adam Schenk
- 8:29 pm - Nate Lashley, Keith Mitchell, Austin Eckroat
- 8:40 pm - Mark Hubbard, Matt NeSmith, Aguri Iwasaki
- 8:51 pm - Aaron Rai, Kevin Yu, Trevor Werbylo
- 9:02 pm - Alex Noren, Tyson Alexander, Shugo Imahira
- 9:13 pm - Beau Hossler, Nicolai Hojgaard, Ryo Hisatsune
- 9:24 pm - Sahith Theegala, Sungjae Im, Kaito Onishi
- 9:35 pm - Vincent Norrman, Nick Hardy, Cam Davis
- 9:46 pm - Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama
- 9:57 pm - Taylor Montgomery, Min Woo Lee, Keita Nakajima
10th tee
- 7:45 pm - Satoshi Kodaira, Zac Blair, Harry Hall
- 7:56 pm - Brandon Wu, Thomas Detry, Taiga Semikawa
- 8:07 pm - Akshay Bhatia, Cameron Champ, Ryo Ishikawa
- 8:18 pm - K.H. Lee, Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott
- 8:29 pm - Taylor Moore, Kurt Kitayama, Xander Schauffele
- 8:40 pm - Eric Cole, Will Gordon, Takumi Kanaya
- 8:51 pm - S.H. Kim, Sam Stevens, Justin Lower
- 9:02 pm - Ben Griffin, Justin Suh, Kensei Hirata
- 9:13 pm - Hayden Buckley, Ben Taylor, Young-han Song
- 9:24 pm - Nick Taylor, J.J. Spaun, Tom Hoge
- 9:35 pm - Emiliano Grillo, Davis Riley, Garrick Higgo
- 9:46 pm - Michael Kim, Sam Ryder, Dylan Wu
- 9:57 pm - David Lipsky, Andrew Novak, Ryataro Nagano