Matsuyama ‘inspiring’ Asians
KUALA LUMPUR: Hideki Matsuyama’s historic triumph in becoming the first Japanese winner at the Masters will spark immediate gains for Asian golf.
South Korea’s An Byeong-Hun will be the first to attest to the fact.
When South Korean Yang YongEun delivered Asia’s maiden major title in the men’s competition following a memorable victory at the 2009 PGA Championship, An was amongst the throng of Asian kids who were instantly inspired.
Two weeks after watching Yang defeat Tiger Woods in a head-to-head final-round duel at Hazeltine, An won the US Amateur Championship at Southern Hills to become the youngest champion in its history at age 17.
A regular now on the PGA Tour, the Korean 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 Championship 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.
For An, watching Matsuyama grind out a one-stroke victory at Augusta National was special.
“It’s freaking unbelievable. He’s the first Asian to do it at the Masters and I was watching on TV. 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,” said An, who is chasing a first PGA Tour win.
Satoshi 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 the Olympic Games which Tokyo will host in July and Matsuyama will be the obvious main attraction in the men’s competition.
“[Hideki] winning the Masters is an amazing and historic achievement that he did on behalf of Japan. 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,” said Kodaira.
CT Pan of Taiwan saw first-hand how good Matsuyama truly was when they partnered for two matches in the Presidents Cup two years ago.
“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 Asia will be inspired by Matsuyama’s Masters heroics. “We are all really happy and proud of him,” said Lahiri.
“Hideki does a lot of amazing things for golf in Asia. The Olympics is in Japan and the country will be boasting their own Masters champion heading into the Olympics. How cool is that?
“It’s fantastic and every way you look at it, it’s going to be great for the development of golf in Asia. He’s already done a lot and in my opinion, he’s the most accomplished of the Japanese players globally and this is kind of the cherry on top and kind of makes him the undisputed person in that category.”