Hideki Matsuyama shouldered the weight of a nation in the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club and escaped with a win after a one-over round on Sunday.
It’s Japan’s first major championship win by a male golfer, and it comes just a week after Japanese Tsubasa Kajitani won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. What a week for a country with a long-standing love of golf to have winners in such prestigious events back-to-back.
“It’s thrilling to think that there are a lot of youngsters in Japan watching today,” Matsuyama said after the win. “Hopefully some of them will one day be competing on the world stage. Hopefully they’ll be able to follow in my footsteps.”
Matsuyama was mostly cool and calculated on the way to a four birdie, five bogey card. The low amateur at Augusta National ten years ago returned to Butler Cabin and sat in a different chair during the Green Jacket ceremony.
In a week where many worldwide stars faltered, Hideki Matsuyama, the second-ranked golfer in the world a few years ago, outlasted both established stars and young upstarts alike, all while golf is as competitive a place as it’s ever been. Add to the mix a reinvigorated Hideki Matsuyama, and the fields are only getting stronger.
Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed made strong pushes from way behind, young Will Zalatoris kept the pressure on, and Schuffele breathed down Matsuyama’s neck on the back-nine. But the leader kept his foot firmly in front of the door.
There was a spot of high drama on the 15th, where Matsuyama overshot the green and skipped his ball into the water. He made bogey and the lead was cut to two with Schauffele right behind. However, Schauffele took a swim of his own on the very next hole, dunking it on the 16th to give Matsuyama some breathing room.
The Japanese 29-year-old is the first Masters champ to shoot over par on Sunday since Trevor Immelman in 2008, but his wobbly back-nine was still enough after a fantastic round on Saturday.
This major win is sure to put wind in the sails of Matsuyama, who has put together solid results for a decade but has been eluded by a massive win. It’s the first win– period– for Matsuyama since WGC-Bridgestone in 2017. An immaculate ball-striker for years, the short game finally came together for Matsuyama and he was rewarded for it.
Next up on the PGA Tour is RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, SC., where Webb Simpson won last year in the rescheduled event.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
