Cleveland, Ohio, United States: Asian golf’s poster boy Hideki Matsuyama has signed with IMG for worldwide management and marketing representation.
Currently ranked 16th player on the Official World Golf Ranking, Matsuyama has six victories worldwide including five on the Japan Tour.
The 22-year-old Japanese earned his first PGA Tour victory at the 2014 Memorial Tournament, where he won in a play-off.
Before turning professional, Matsuyama won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in 2010 and 2011, each time earning a trip to Augusta National Golf Club to play the Masters Tournament.
He earned low amateur honours at the Masters in 2011 and reached number one on the World Amateur Golf Ranking in 2012.
“I’m excited to join the IMG family,” Matsuyama said. “I believe that the global resources provided by IMG and WME will help me achieve my goal of winning a Major.
“Hopefully, one day, I will be worthy of being named in the same breath as the game’s greatest champions who built their careers with IMG.”
Matsuyama became the first rookie to win the Japan Tour money title in 2013. He joined the PGA Tour the same year via special exemption after earning more than US$770,000 in six starts, including two top-10 finishes in Majors.
Guy Kinnings of IMG, an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to begin working with Hideki across all aspects of his business.
“IMG has a long history of representing the best international players in the game and we look forward to working with our partners at WME to build Hideki’s brand globally.”