Considering how the betting lines went heading into the Masters, it’s clear that hardly any follower of the sport figured on Hideki Matsuyama putting on the Green Jacket when all would be said and done. In any given season, big money is wagered on golf’s premier event, and not even its second unfolding in the midst of a continuing pandemic did little to stunt speculation on the odds of the usual suspects. Even with all the punting, he attracted close to zero interest, in no small measure because of his spotty record in major championships.
At the Masters, though, Matsuyama hitherto proved that he could hang with the best of the best. True, nine previous appearances did yield one cut. On the other hand, he was likewise able to turn in fifth- and seventh-place finishes among his performances. If nothing else, his scores showed he knew Augusta National — or, at the very least, enough of it — to tame it under the right circumstances. Experience is the best teacher in the pride of Georgia, and his capacity to take in all that it imbibed and imparted enabled him to stay ready.
As things turned out, opportunity did come knocking for Matsuyama last week. After solid, if unspectacular, scores of 69 and 71 to start the tournament, he blitzed the field with a sterling 65 in the penultimate round. Moving Day had him, well, moving up while just about everybody else stayed put or tumbled out of contention. And while the annals of the Masters are littered with examples of would-be champions unable to deal with stress under pressure, he proved he had the right combination of skill and serenity to take the measure of both the course and his opponents.
Indeed, Matsuyama hit the mother lode. He became the first Japanese male golfer to claim a Grand Slam stop, further cementing his status as an icon in the Land of the Rising Sun. And the country needed the boost, to be sure; its hosting of the Olympic Games, already postponed a year due to the novel coronavirus, remains riddled with issues. Which was why, in the countless interviews since his victory, he has made sure to acknowledge his roots, and profess his desire to be a role model for other golfers in the country. As no less than Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga noted, “It was really wonderful. As the coronavirus drags on, his achievement moved our hearts and gave us courage.”
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
