April 11, 2021 | BY AAGD STAFF
Congratulations to Hideki Matsuyama who made history for himself and Japan on Sunday, becoming the first Japanese golfer to win the Masters Tournament. He finished with a score of 10 under par.
Matsuyama overcame his previous best finish at Augusta National Golf Club (tied for fifth in 2015), won his first major and secured his first PGA Tour event victory since the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational in August 2017.
Coming up on the leaderboard and following Matsuyama were Masters rookie Will Zalatoris, second place (9 under); Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele, tied for third (7 under); John Rahm and Marc Leishman, tied for fifth (6 under); and 36-hole leader Justin Rose in seventh place (5 under).
Masters Coverage, Day 3, April 11, 2021, Jim Beatty Reporting
After shooting 2 under on the front nine, with three birdies, he excelled to lead to six strokes. However, with three bogeys, including consecutive ones on the 15th and 16th, he made the final margin of his resulting victory much closer. His paired partner, Schauffele, birdied 12 through 15 to get to two strokes in back of the leader.
Schauffele, however, suffered a brutal triple bogey on 16 removing any chance of him seriously claiming a win over Matsuyama. Yet, it was Matsuyama’s errant shots which allowed for Zalatoris to stay in contention. An exciting round, when he even stayed on the range in case Matsuyama somehow finished with an epic meltdown to send the tournament to a playoff.
On hole 18, Matsuyama’s approach landed in the bunker, leaving a small sliver of hope for the Masters rookie. None-the-less, Matsuyama remained calm and collected as he survived with a two-putt for bogey to finish with his first Masters Tournament victory, 10 years after being the low amateur at Augusta.
