Japanese breakthrough
Matsuyama becomes 1st man from country to capture major title
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The pressure was even more than Hideki Matsuyama could have imagined when he stood on the first tee Sunday at Augusta National. So was the emotion when he walked off the 18th green as the first Masters champion from golf-mad Japan.
His arms securely inside the sleeves of the green jacket, he thrust them in the air.
Ten years after he made a sterling debut as a 19-year-old amateur at the Masters, Matsuyama claimed the ultimate prize and took his place in history. Whether he’s Japan’s greatest player isn’t his concern.
‘‘However, I’m the first to win a major,’’ he said through his interpreter. ‘‘And if that’s the bar, then I’ve set it.’’
Despite starting the day with a four-shot lead, the nerves stayed with Matsuyama from the time he hit his opening tee shot into the trees to his back-to-back birdies that led to a six-shot lead to a few nervous moments when Xander Schauffele made a run at him on the back nine.
Only when he belted his drive down the 18th fairway and twirled the club could he feel the victory was in hand. He played so well for so long that bogeys on three of the last four holes made the result look closer than it was.
Matsuyama closed with a 1-over-par 73 to earn a one-shot victory over Masters rookie Will Zalatoris (2-under 70).
Schauffele ran off four consecutive birdies to get within two shots with three holes to play, only to hit an 8-iron into the water on the par-3 16th for a triple-bogey 6 that ended his hopes. He shot an even-par 72, even with a triple bogey and a double bogey on his card, and tied for third with Jordan Spieth (70).
‘‘Man, he was something else,’’ Schauffele said. ‘‘He played like a winner needs to play. ‘‘[On the 16th], I really would have loved to have put more pressure on him there, but I basically gave him the tournament.’’
Then his thoughts turned to the significance of what Matsuyama achieved. Schauffele’s mother was raised in Japan, and his grandparents still live there.
‘‘No one really wants to talk about how much pressure is on him,’’ Schauffele said. ‘‘You look at the media that follows him. You look at what he’s done in his career. He’s a top-ranked player with a ton of pressure on him, and that’s the hardest way to play. He’s able to do it.’’
The emotion for a player who says so little was never more evident. Moments before Dustin Johnson helped him into the green jacket, Matsuyama needed no interpreter in Butler Cabin when he said in English, ‘‘I’m really happy.’’
So masterful was his play that Matsuyama stretched his lead to six shots on the back nine until a few moments of drama. With a fourshot lead, he went for the green in two on the par-5 15th, and the ball bounced hard off the back slope and into the pond on the 16th hole.
Matsuyama did well to walk away with a bogey. But with Schauffele making a fourth birdie in a row, the lead was down to two shots. And then it was over.
Schauffele was in the water. Matsuyama made a safe par on the 17th and ripped one down the middle of the 18th fairway. He made bogey from the bunker to finish at 10-under 278, soaking in the moment with a few thousand spectators on their feet to celebrate a career-changing moment.