AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — 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 the best amateur at the Masters, the 29-year-old Matsuyama claimed the ultimate prize and took his place in history.
Whether he’s Japan’s greatest player is not 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.”
Staked to a four-shot lead, the nerves stayed with Matsuyama from the time he hit his opening tee shot into the trees to back-to-back birdies that led to a six-shot lead to a few nervous moments at the end when Xander Schauffele made a late run at him.
Only when he belted his drive down the 18th fairway and twirled the club in his hands could he feel this victory was in hand. He played so well for so long that three bogeys over the last four holes made this Masters look closer than it was.
He closed with a 1-over 73 for a one-shot victory over Masters rookie Will Zalatoris (70).
Schauffele ran off four straight 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 that ended his hopes. He shot a 72 with a triple bogey and a double bogey on his card and tied for third with Jordan Spieth (70).
“Man, he was something else. He played like a winner needs to play,” Schauffele said. “Sixteen, I really would have loved to have put more pressure on him there, but basically gave him the tournament at that point.”
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.”
And he did 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 this performance that Matsuyama stretched his lead to six shots on the back nine until a few moments of drama. With a four-shot lead, he went for the green in two on the par-5 15th and it bounded hard off the back slope and into the pond on the 16th hole.
Matsuyama did well to walk away with bogey, and with Schauffele making a fourth straight birdie, 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.
