History is made at the Masters every year. But on Sunday, it felt different. A “first-ever” moment resonated throughout the world as Hideki Matsuyama became Japan’s first men’s major champion.
He shot a final-round 1-over 73 to win by one over Will Zalatoris. “Hopefully I’ll be a pioneer and many more (Japanese players) will follow me,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter.
With the weight of his home country on his shoulders, Matsuyama only flinched a couple of times after he entered Sunday with a four-shot lead before eventually building it to six midway through the back nine.
A couple of hiccups occurred late, but his cushion was too large. Matsuyama, 29, earned his sixth PGA TOUR win, the coveted Green Jacket and a whopping 600 FedExCup points to move to No. 7 in the standings.
England’s Justin Rose, who led for two rounds, faded in the final 18 holes with a two-over 74 to end five under.
BY THE NUMBERS
6 – Score for Xander Schauffele on the par-3 16th hole on Sunday. It was the first triple bogey for Schauffele in a major championship (1,042 holes).
26 – Made cuts for Phil Mickelson at the Masters. That moved him to sixth all-time trailing legends Jack Nicklaus (37), Gary Player (30), Fred Couples (30), Raymond Floyd (27) and Bernhard Langer (27).
4 – Birdies on No. 10 for Jordan Spieth at Augusta National last week. He is the first player in the tournament’s history to birdie the 10th hole all four rounds. Spieth finished T3.
26 – Of the last 31 Masters winners have come out of the last pairing. Sunday’s final pairing was winner Hideki Matsuyama and Xander Schauffele.
