Tanihara has the tools to topple Japanese rivals

Hideki Matsuyama has not arrived at Carnoustie in great form and may not find the course to his liking, so bookmakers could be wrong to have chalked him up as odds-on favourite for Open Championship top Japanese honours.

Matsuyama, world number two after finishing fifth in the USPGA in August, has dropped to 16th in the rankings after a winless spell in which he lost fitness and form. He missed the cut in the Scottish Open by two shots last week and is short of confidence for his Carnoustie debut.

An unfortunate grouping has not helped as Matsuyama has been paired with Tiger Woods for the first two rounds. There will be a circus following that threeball, led by an army of twitchy photographers, and the intensity of that spotlight is unsettling for a player lacking his A-game. Woods, playing well and used to that level of scrutiny, should handle it, but Matsuyama, only 26 and under immense pressure to become Japan's first Major champ, could implode.