Hideki Matsuyama On Sunday, he beat the 85th edition of the Augusta Masters in a heart attack final and became the first Japanese to lift the men’s Grand Slam golf title. At 29 years old, he held out the lead he reached on Saturday and closed at the Augusta National with a final round of 73 strokes and a final victory with just one blow over the American rookie. Will Zlatores.
Matsuyama25th in the PGA Ranking, the first Asian to wear a Masters green jacket and the second to lift the Grand Slam title, after South Korean Yang Yong-eun in the 2009 PGA Championship. The tournament with a total of 278 hits, 10 under par, one under Zalatoris, who was pursuing To be the first beginner to win the famous championship since 1979.
It was the American two strikes Jordan Speth and Xavier Chavili, Who was paired with Matsuyama and came to an end with options even committing a trilogy a ghost In the 16th hole, Spaniard John Ramm, third in the standings, shone in the best round of the day with 66 strokes, six below the standard, raising him to fifth.
In the tournament where he plans an absence Tiger woodsWinner in 2019 and in the rehabilitation of the serious car accident he suffered in February, Matsuyama won a prize of $ 2.07 million And a prominent place in the history of Japanese sports.
The best hits PGA golfers have achieved were runners-up from a Pioneer: Isao Aoki at the US Open in 1980 and Matsuyama himself in the same tournament in 2017. On the women’s circuit, his country has already celebrated the victories of Hinako Shibuno at the 2019 British Open and Shaku Higuchi in the 2019 AFC Champions League 1977.
Matsuyama has not been a PGA circuit win since 2017 WGC Akron but has been in the top 10 Grand Slam tournaments seven times.
The Japanese He had a five-stroke lead but between slots 12 and 16 he went through his worst moment with three ghosts And sending two balls into the water, sparking tension in Augusta National. But Shavili, who was his direct stalker, also fell into the lake once and couldn’t close the gap, so the world number 25 hit the last hole quite often.
“I hope to be a pioneer and other Japanese will come later,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter, adding, “I am delighted to open the door so wide and hope that many will follow.”
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With information from Agence France-Presse
