The Masters
Matsuyama Makes Masters History With Japanese Victory
Matsuyama Makes Masters History With Japanese Victory
Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese man to win a major by holding his nerve down the stretch to capture the 85th Masters after a dramatic final round.
Carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders in a pressure-packed match at Augusta National, Matsuyama hung on over the final holes for a one-stroke victory and a place for the ages in Japanese sports history.
Matsuyama said, “I’m really happy, hopefully I’ll be a pioneer in this and many other Japanese will follow. I’m happy to open the floodgate and many more will follow me.
“Maybe a lot of younger golfers thought, ‘That’s an impossibility,’ but with me doing it they will realise it is possible and if they set their minds to it they can do it.”
American Will Zalatoris was second in his Masters debut on 279 after a closing 70 with US three-time major winner Jordan Spieth and American Schauffele sharing third on 281.
Matsuyama became only the second Asian man to win a major title after South Korea’s Yang Yong-eun at the 2009 PGA Championship. The best prior majors by Japanese men were Isao Aoki’s runnerup effort at the 1980 US Open and Matsuyama’s share of second at the 2017 US Open. No prior Japanese player had finished better than fourth at the Masters.
Japan’s two previous major golf titles belonged to women, Chako Higuchi from the 1977 LPGA Championship and Hinako Shibuno at the 2019 Women’s British Open.
There was tension right from the start with Matsuyama hitting his first tee shot well right into trees on the way to a bogey. He shook it off at the par-5 second, blasting out of a greenside bunker for a tap-in birdie.
A 20-foot putt par save at the fifth and a deft touch with short irons set up birdies at the par-5 eighth and par-4 ninth. After a bogey at the par-3 12th, he hit a tree off the tee at the par-5 13th but recovered for birdie as Schauffele made his move.
Three-over after five holes, Schauffele birdied both seven and eight and reeled off four birdies in a row starting at the 12th. “I fought hard. It was a messy start,” Schauffele said. “Hideki was robot-like for 13 holes.”
Tension grew as Matsuyama found the water over the green at the par-5 15th for bogey while Schauffele had a tap-in birdie to pull within two shots with three to play.
But Schauffele’s watery fate at the par-3 16th meant a triple bogey, his first in any major after 1,041 prior holes. “I was coming in hot,” Schauffele said. “Went a little hyper-aggressive at 16.”
“I felt like I gave him a little bit of a run and made a little bit of excitement for the tournament until I met a watery grave there,” Schauffele said. “I’ll be able to sleep tonight. It might be hard but I’ll be OK.”
Matsuyama, 29, would close with three bogeys in the last four holes before a bunker blast at 18 to six feet and a two-putt bogey win. He fired a one-over-par 73 to close on 10-under 278.
“My nerves really didn’t start on the second nine,” he said. “It was from the start today to the very last putt.” Still, he drew inspiration from his family back home in Japan. “I was thinking about them all the way around today,” he said. “I was playing it for them.”