EDDIE PEPPERELL

Our playing editor has recorded two victories on the European Tour, including the 2018 British Masters, and has 24 top-tens on the circuit

Well, The Masters rarely disappoints and so it proved once again, despite Hideki Matsuyama putting himself in a seemingly unassailable position after 11 holes of the final round. It really was a masterclass in iron play and chipping and congratulations to him for such a longawaited and significant victory.

Before the start of the tournament, the only thing I was certain of was that Jordan Spieth would be up there and I hoped the course would be playing firm and fast, because in my view The Masters is better when Augusta National is borderline crazy. We saw that in the first round, but possibly not as much as we would have liked. But still, we got what we always get at The Masters: world-class players at the top of the leaderboard.

I think the weather delay on the Saturday changed the nature and character of the course and tournament. Hideki went on that crazy back-nine run and maybe that wouldn’t have happened on a firmer golf course, which would have led to things being a bit closer heading into Sunday and perhaps a touch more exciting. Still, he was the only one who adapted to the conditions and put a great run together, and some of the shots he played on Saturday afternoon were magnificent.

He was obviously the heavy favourite heading into Sunday, but I expected Xander Schauffele to run him close and thought Will Zalatoris looked amazing over the first three rounds. I was surprised at Schauffele’s start, and it was interesting that he was able to put such a good run together when he was seemingly out of the tournament. Then, when he’d reduced the gap to two, he made that triple-bogey on the 16th.

I think there’s inevitably some psychological element and you’d be kidding yourself if you didn’t acknowledge that. The look he gave to his caddie after the tee shot on 16 was fairly revealing and it seemed they went for the shorter club and tried to step on it, which obviously didn’t work. Xander is such an awesome player and arguably should have won more than he has.

That said, he was chasing a man who was playing imperious golf, so it may not have mattered anyway. Hideki has a great technique around the greens and his approach play was just so good. It’s been a strange career in many ways. A few years ago when he won those two WGCS, it appeared as if the only way was up, but he then went through a very quiet spell. I’m guessing a lot of that was down to issues on the green, but he’s back where he belongs now. There are probably ten or so guys who on their week are world-class and Hideki is in that category.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go from strength to strength now. He’s not a one-dimensional golfer and he’s capable of doing well in all the big events. He’s still young and now he’s got the first one off his back, I’d expect him to win more Majors. I can’t imagine how much pressure he must have been under being the main star from Japan.

On the Saturday, an old caddie texted me and reminded me of when we were at Erin Hills for the 2017 US Open. On one of the practice days, there were 60 or 70 Japanese photographers and reporters all following him. In terms of golf, he really does carry the weight of a nation on his shoulders. There does seem to be an element of unpredictability about him, so it’s tough to know for sure, but I’d expect him to kick on now.

Another man who impressed me hugely was Zalatoris. When someone’s biggest strength is their ability to strike the ball so cleanly and flush their irons the way he does, it bodes very well for a great career. That sort of golfer can perform at the highest level. You look at his swing and perhaps it’s not as fluid as some, but it’s clearly working up and down on great lines and has characteristics that lend themselves to hitting very repeatable golf shots. He seems to have a great mindset, too, so he’s in position to become one of the stars of the game.

“In terms of golf, Hideki really does carry the weight of a nation on his shoulders”