Masters Winner by Year: Hideki Matsuyama Makes History at Augusta National
On 4/12/21 at 4:20 AM EDT
Hideki Matsuyama made history at The Masters on Sunday as he became the first Japanese player to win a major championship.
Exactly 10 years on since he first caught the eye at the tournament by finishing as the best amateur, the 29-year-old conquered Augusta National, becoming the first Asian player to don the famous Green Jacket.
Leading by four strokes after the first three rounds, Matsuyama carded a 1-over-par 73 on Sunday, finishing one shot ahead of American rookie Will Zalatoris and two clear of Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele.
Hideki Matsuyama delivered golf-mad Japan the grandest and greenest prize of all. Ten years after Matsuyama made a sterling debut as the best amateur at Augusta National, he claimed the ultimate trophy Sunday with a victory in the Masters to become the first Japanese winner of the green jacket. Matsuyama closed with a 1-over 73 and a one-shot victory that was only close at the end, and never seriously in doubt after Xander Schauffele’s late charge ended with a triple bogey on the par-3 16th.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Hideki Matsuyama almost turned down his first chance to play the Masters. It was a month after a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, disasters that killed thousands.
Hideki Matsuyama delivered golf-mad Japan the grandest and greenest prize of all. Ten years after Matsuyama made a sterling debut as the best amateur at Augusta National, he claimed.