Matsuyama’s mastery to elevate Asia’s game
From pro ranks to kids, Hideki’s heroics a major boost for continent
Hideki Matsuyama’s historic triumph in becoming the first Japanese winner at the Masters looks set to spark immediate gains for Asian golf.
South Korean An Byeong-hun certainly attests to that theory. When Yang Young-eun delivered Asia’s maiden men’s major title at the 2009 PGA Championship, An was among the multitude of Asian kids who were instantly inspired.
Two weeks after watching Yang defeat the great Tiger Woods in a head-to-head final-round duel at Hazeltine National, An won the prestigious US Amateur Championship at Southern Hills to become the youngest champion in its history at age 17.
A regular now on the PGA Tour, An expects to see a steep rise in Japanese kids and aspiring golfers from across Asia making a beeline to the US and emulating Matsuyama.
Over the years, a sprinkling of Japanese golfers have made their way onto the PGA Tour, with the likes of Isao Aoki, Shigeki Maruyama, Ryuji Imada and Satoshi Kodaira having won at least once at the game’s highest level.
“You’ve seen YE Yang win the PGA in 2009 and since then, we’ve had 10 Korean-born players out here on the PGA Tour. We have two Japanese players now and I’m sure we’ll see more and more soon as Hideki’s win will propel that. It’s not only great for Japanese golf, it’s great for Asian golf too,” said An, who is competing in this week’s RBC Heritage.
An has gotten to know Matsuyama better over the years, especially when they were International teammates at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. So, watching Matsuyama grind out a one-stroke victory at Augusta was “freaking unbelievable”.
“He’s the first Asian to do it at the Masters and I was watching on TV,” added An.
“He was my teammate in the Presidents Cup and it’s great to see someone from the Internationals win the Masters. The golf he played was amazing.”
A new wave of Japanese talent, led by 22-year-old Takumi Kanaya, is fast ascending the world rankings and is tipped to follow in Matsuyama’s footsteps. Kanaya has already cut a path similar to Matsuyama. Both went to Tohoku Fukushi University, both won on the Japan Golf Tour as amateurs, and both won the Asia-Pacific Amateur.
Kodaira is the second Japanese golfer currently competing on the PGA Tour, and he reckons his countryman’s major breakthrough will be a boon for the game at home. And then there is also this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, where Matsuyama will now be the obvious main attraction.
“Hideki winning the Masters is an amazing and historic achievement that he did on behalf of Japan,” said Kodaira. “It’s inspirational and definitely provides added motivation to the Japanese players competing in Japan and to those of us, myself included, playing in America to go out and try and win.
“It will only have a positive impact on the golf industry in Japan. Whether they are juniors already playing golf or the ones who have never touched a club in their life, kids across Japan will see that Hideki just won the Masters and will think to themselves that if Hideki can win, then I can win too.
“There are a few of us, including myself, that see this win and it makes us believe we can go out and win the Masters in the near future. My hope would be that those same feelings will carry over to the kids in Japan.”
CT Pan of Chinese Taipei witnessed first-hand how good Matsuyama is when they partnered for two matches in the Presidents Cup two years ago. They won both their fourball matches against Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed. Pan marvels at how the 29-year-old Matsuyama, now a six-time PGA Tour winner, handles the pressure and expectations of golf-crazy Japan.
“I am so happy for him. He was my teammate and we became good friends. I think he carries a lot of expectations of Japanese fans. Japan is a country where many people love golf and I believe they were expecting their own Masters winner all the time. He has a great attitude in his practice and in competition,” said Pan.
India’s Anirban Lahiri hopes golf in his native country will be inspired by Matsuyama’s Masters heroics. “We are all really happy and proud of him. Anyone who knows him — and I’m fortunate enough to know him a little bit — says he’s just a fantastic guy,” said Lahiri.
“He doesn’t say much and he’s soft spoken. He’s got a big heart and truly loves the game and playing his best all the time. I know how much emotion he probably felt and still feels. It’s probably still sinking in for him.
“Hideki does a lot of amazing things for golf in Asia. The Olympics are in Japan and the country will be boasting its own Masters champion heading into the Olympics … how cool is that?”
Silver to green
Matsuyama became only the seventh player to go from winning a silver cup as the lowest-scoring amateur at the Masters to a green jacket as the tournament’s winner.
The others were Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Ben Crenshaw, Jack Nicklaus and Cary Middlecoff.
The shortest turnaround was Woods, who was low amateur in 1995 and won in 1997. The longest stretch was Mickelson, who was low amateur in 1991 and won his first green jacket in 2004.
So that leads to the question:
Who’s next?
There are three leading candidates, and that starts with Bryson DeChambeau because he already has a major (US Open). DeChambeau tied for 21st as low amateur in 2016. He hasn’t cracked the top 25 as a pro.
Patrick Cantlay was low amateur in 2012. He briefly had the lead after an eagle on the 15th hole in the final round only to bogey the next two holes and tied for ninth. Viktor Hovland was low amateur in 2019. He has won twice on the PGA Tour already. He tied for 21st in his Masters debut as a pro this year.