San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Matsuyama masterpiece makes Japanese history
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The storms that stopped play for a little more than hour Saturday at the Masters were expected. The masterpiece delivered by Hideki Matsuyama after the break was not.
Matsuyama played the final eight holes in 6under par, turning a twoshot deficit into a fourshot lead. With four flawless swings and three putts late on the back nine at Augusta National, he went from part of a logjam on the leaderboard to the cusp of becoming the first Japanese player to win a major.
The final touch was a superb par save from 25 yards behind the 18th green for a 7under 65, the only bogeyfree round this week at the Masters. He became the first Japanese player to lead the Masters after a round — any round.
“I wouldn’t have believed it,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter. “But I did play well today. And my game plan was carried out, and hopefully, tomorrow I can continue good form.”
It all started in his car, where the 29yearold waited out the storm delay. Part of the time he was playing on his phone. He also thought about his last shot, a drive into trees right of the 11th fairway.
“During the rain delay, I just figured I can’t hit anything worse than that,” Matsuyama said. “And so maybe it relieved some pressure. I don’t know. But I did hit it well coming in.” Matsuyama was at 11under 205, four shots clear of San Francisco native and Masters rookie Will Zalatoris (71), Xander Schauffele (68), Justin Rose (72) and Marc Leishman (70).
It was 10 years ago when Matsuyama first played in the Masters as the AsiaPacific Amateur winner. He learned then that he could handle Augusta National as the only amateur to make the cut in 2011, finishing on the same score (1under 287) as defending champion Phil Mickelson. Now comes the real test.
“If Hideki plays well, he can control his own destiny, I guess,” Leishman said. “But a lot can happen around here. I’ve seen what can happen. I’ve had bad rounds here myself, and I’ve had good rounds. You can make up four shots fairly quickly, but you have to do a lot of things right to do that.”
Matsuyama did just about everything right, starting with his first shot after the delay — a 7iron he punched under the trees and onto an 11th green slightly slowed by the moisture to 20 feet for birdie.
After his birdie from 10 feet on the 12th, Augusta National came to life.
Imagine the roars if there had been a full capacity of spectators.
In a sequence that took no more than two minutes, Schauffele ran in a 60foot eagle putt across the 15th green to momentarily tie for the lead at 7under; back on the 12th, Rose made a 25foot putt for his first birdie since the second hole, giving him the lead at 8under.
That lasted as long as it took Matsuyama to cash in on his 5iron to the 15th by making a 5foot eagle putt to reach 9under, his first time in the lead. And no one could keep up.
“I’ve been playing with the lead the whole week, and obviously there’s been an hour where Hideki has sort of moved out there in front,” Rose said. “All the guys chasing at 7under par are all capable of that little run Hideki has had. So it’s all up for grabs tomorrow.”
Matsuyama followed with an 8iron to 5 feet to the front right shelf on the par3 16th for birdie, and his pitching wedge to the back pin on the 17th had enough spin to settle 10 feet from the hole for another.
Corey Conners had a holeinone on No. 6 in a 68 and was at 6under 210. Jordan Spieth was within two shots of the lead despite a double bogey on the seventh hole, but he couldn’t keep pace and shot 72 to fall six shots behind.