Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
You simply can’t Hide talent like that under a bushel
I USED to get some lighthearted stick for tipping Hideki Matsuyama on a near fortnightly basis.
I seem to recall he was my 300/1 outside bet heading into the 2013 US Open just two months after turning pro and later that week he went on to finish a creditable T10.
You’ll not remember – and in truth, neither did I until someone pointed it out – but I wrote in that week’s column: “This kid will be a superstar.”
And here we are eight years later celebrating Matsuyama being crowned the first men’s major winner from Japan after getting his hands on the green jacket at Augusta National.
The 29-year-old can count a Memorial, two WGCS and a couple of Phoenix Opens on his impressive CV, but winning the Masters is his crowning glory.
And he did it while carrying the weight of a nation on his back.
Shane Lowry and Rory Mcilroy have done similar for Irish golf fans in the recent past, but we’ve had local wins before.
When you’re a pioneer, the pressure is greater.
In terms of expectation, the explosive glare of the Japanese media is on a different level, but Hideki handled the scrutiny like a bomb disposal technician on valium.
Hitting the water at the 15th? A brief quizzical look followed by an expert pitch and two putts to card a bogey and avoid potential disaster. I can only imagine what they were thinking in Tokyo.
Japan has produced many great players in the past, but a major always proved elusive. Isao Aoki came closest with a second place behind Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 US Open.
Since his arrival on the scene in 2011, Matsuyama has had to deal with intense pressure and it can’t have been easy. But playing on his home tour in his early years gifted him three things – exposure to professional golf, a winning mentality and an ability to deal with hype.
The big challenge for Japanese players has always been on the road. The cultural challenges are huge and the language barrier is enormous.
That may sound simplistic, but those everyday challenges off the course make the task of fulfilling your potential all the more difficult.
So many Japanese players have shone at home, but struggled abroad, which makes Matsuyama’s achievement all the more impressive.
Jumbo Ozaki was a match for any global star in Japan in the 1970s and 80s but he never won in America and his best major finish was a T6 at the 1989 US Open.
It was great to see Hideki finally deliver and also speak in his native tongue in the Butler Cabin, a gesture that will have evoked great pride and inspired future generations back home.
Now he has smashed one of golf ’s glass ceilings, the sky’s the limit.
Every nation needs a hero and Japan has a golfing superstar.
DAILY MIRROR