is a Japanese

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf p ...

who plays on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

. He is the first-ever Japanese

to win a men's major golf championship the

2021 Masters Tournament The 2021 Masters Tournament was the 85th edition of the Masters Tournament and the first of the men's four major golf championships held in 2021. It was held from April 8–11, 2021, at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. After ...

. As of January 2022, Matsuyama has 17 worldwide wins, eight career top-10 finishes in major championships, and five

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

appearances. Matsuyama is a two-time winner of tournaments in the World Golf Championships, two-time winner of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, eight-time

Japan Golf Tour The Japan Golf Tour ( ja, 日本ゴルフツアー機構) is a prominent golf tour. It was founded in 1973 and as of 2006 it offers the third-highest annual prize fund out of the regular (that is not for seniors) men's professional tours after t ...

winner, and two-time winner of the Asian Amateur Championship. His eight wins on the

make him the most successful Japanese member of the PGA Tour in history. He attained his highest rank of second in the Official World Golf Rankings for men in June 2017.

Early life and amateur career

Matsuyama was born on 25 February 1992 in

Matsuyama, Ehime 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243541 househ ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. He was introduced to golf at the age of four, by his father. During eighth grade, he transferred to Meitoku Gijuku Junior & Senior High School in

Kochi Prefecture Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Ke ...

, in search of a better golf environment. Matsuyama studied at Tohoku Fukushi University in

Sendai is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the ''daimyō'' Date M ...

. He won the 2010 Asian Amateur Championship with a score of 68-69-65-67=269. This gave him the chance to compete as an amateur in the 2011 Masters Tournament, becoming the first Japanese amateur to do so. At the Masters, Matsuyama was the leading amateur and won the Silver Cup, which is presented to the lowest scoring amateur. He was the only amateur to make the cut. A week after his victory, he finished in a tie for third at the Japan Open Golf Championship which is an event on the

. In 2011, Matsuyama won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

at the 2011 World University Games. He also led the Japan team to the gold medal in the team event. In October 2011, he also successfully defended his title at the Asian Amateur Championship. In November, Matsuyama won the Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Taiheiyo Masters on the

while still an amateur. In August 2012, Matsuyama reached number one in the

World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs ...

Professional career

2013

Matsuyama turned professional in April 2013 and won his second professional tournament, the 2013 Tsuruya Open on the Japan Golf Tour. Five weeks later, Matsuyama won his third title on the Japan Golf Tour at the Diamond Cup Golf tournament. Following a top 10 finish at the 2013 U.S. Open, Matsuyama entered the top 50 of the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. He won his fourth Japan Golf Tour event in September at the

Fujisankei Classic The is a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. It was first played in 1973 at the Takasaka Country Club (Yoneyama Course). The tournament moved to the Higashi-Matsuyama Golf Club in 1979 and to the Kawana Hotel's Fuji course in 1981 ...

. Matsuyama would win his fifth Japan Golf Tour event in December at the

Casio World Open The is a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. Founded in 1981, it is played in November and is one of the richest tournaments in Japan, attracting some of the leading international golfers. It was held at the Ibusuki Golf Club, Ka ...

. The win also made Matsuyama the first rookie to lead the Japan Tour's money list.

2014

For 2014, Matsuyama qualified for the PGA Tour through non-member earnings. In just seven PGA Tour-sanctioned events, Matsuyama had six top-25 finishes, including a T-6 at the 2013 Open Championship. Matsuyama earned his first PGA Tour win at the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

Memorial Tournament, beating Kevin Na in a playoff and moving to a career-high OWGR ranking of 13th. The win was the first for a Japanese player since Ryuji Imada in 2008. In his first full season as a PGA tour member, he finished 28th in the FedEx Cup standings. Matsuyama would win his sixth Japan Golf Tour event late in the 2014 season. In November, the victory came at the

Dunlop Phoenix The is a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. It is played in November at the Phoenix Country Club in Miyazaki, Miyazaki is the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. The city was founded on Apri ...

in a playoff over

Hiroshi Iwata is a Japanese professional golfer who plays on the Japan Golf Tour and the Asian Tour. Iwata was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. He started playing golf at the age of 14, by his father's influence, who ran a local golf range and was a ...

2015

Matsuyama finished fifth at the 2015 Masters Tournament, the best major finish of his career to that point. He finished 16th in the

FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. ...

standings. In 8–11 October, he played for the International Team in the 2015 Presidents Cup and went 2–1–1 (win–loss–half).

2016

On 7 February 2016, Matsuyama won the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a playoff with

Rickie Fowler Rick Yutaka Fowler (born December 13, 1988) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016 he reached a career high fourth ...

. He secured his victory on the fourth hole. The win moved him to 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest in his career. On 16 October 2016, Matsuyama captured the Japan Open by three strokes over Yuta Ikeda and

Lee Kyoung-hoon Lee Kyoung-hoon (; born 24 August 1991), also known as K. H. Lee, is a South Korean professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He won the 2021 and 2022 AT&T Byron Nelson. Professional career Lee turned professional in 2010 and joined the On ...

. The win was Matsuyama's first title at his country's national open and his seventh victory in Japan. The title gives Matsuyama victories in four of the

's five ￥200,000,000 events. On 30 October 2016, Matsuyama followed up his Japan Open triumph by winning the WGC-HSBC Champions, colloquially known as "Asia's Major", in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. Matsuyama became the first Asian golfer to claim a

World Golf Championship The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...

since the series was inaugurated in 1999. With the victory, Matsuyama rose to number 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest position and the second highest ever by a Japanese player after Masashi Ozaki, who achieved a ranking of fifth. He later moved up to fifth in the world after the

Farmers Insurance Open The Farmers Insurance Open is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the San Diego, California, area in the early part of the season known as the "West Coast Swing". The tournament was noted for having singer-actor Andy Willia ...

. On 13 November 2016, Matsuyama won his second Taiheiyo Masters, following his victory as a 19-year-old amateur in 2011. He romped to a seven-shot win over South Korea's

Song Young-han Song Young-han ( ko, 송영한; born 12 July 1991), also known as Younghan Song, is a South Korean professional golfer. Song plays on the Korean Tour and the Japan Golf Tour. On the Korean Tour he has three runner-up finishes and finished 11th o ...

. On 4 December 2016, Matsuyama won the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.

2016 Olympics withdrawal

Although he was the highest ranked male Japanese golfer at the time, Matsuyama withdrew from participating in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games out of concern about the 2016 Zika virus epidemic, which caused several of the world's top players to withdraw from the Olympic golf event.

2017

In Matsuyama's return to the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he again entered a playoff on Sunday to defend his title, this time against Webb Simpson. On the fourth playoff hole, Matsuyama made birdie to win the tournament for the second time in as many years. After finishing second in the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, while the top three players in the world at the time (

Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 and the 2020 Masters Tournament with a record score ...

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in ...

and

Jason Day Jason Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer, PGA Tour member and winner of the 2015 PGA Championship. He is a former world number one in the World Golf Ranking, having first achieved the ranking in September 2015. ...

) failed to make the cut, Matsuyama reached 2nd in the

, his highest ever, and the highest ever for a male Japanese golfer. The 2017 season has been a breakthrough year with Matsuyama winning three Tour titles, including his first

, and three second-place finishes in his first 15 events, as well as winning $5,945,990, putting him second on the money list behind

, before the month of July. He then won the

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational The WGC Invitational was a professional golf tournament that was held in the United States. Established in 1999 as a successor to the World Series of Golf, it was one of three or four annual World Golf Championships (WGC) until 2021, when the n ...

in August, shooting a course record-tying 61 in the final round to win by five strokes. At the 2017 PGA Championship, Matsuyama had opening rounds of 70–64 to share the 36-hold lead, with Kevin Kisner at Quail Hollow.

2019

In December 2019, Matsuyama played on the International team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won, 16–14. Matsuyama went 2–1–1 and halved his Sunday singles match against

Tony Finau Milton Pouha "Tony" Finau (born September 14, 1989) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. Early life and amateur career Milton Pouha Finau was born on September 14, 1989 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He won the Utah ...

2021

On 11 April 2021, Matsuyama won the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

, becoming both the first Japanese player and the first Asian-born player to win the tournament. He finished with an overall score of 278 (−10), one shot ahead of runner-up

Will Zalatoris William Patrick Zalatoris (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional golfer. He has competed primarily on the PGA Tour, where he has won once, at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship . He also has three runner-up finishes in major champ ...

. At the conclusion of the tournament, Matsuyama's caddie, Shota Hayafuji, bowed to the 18th fairway of the Augusta course as a gesture of Japanese respect. In August, Matsuyama finished in a tie for 3rd place at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

. He lost in a 7-man playoff for the bronze medal. The following week Matsuyama was tied for the lead after 72 holes at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He was beaten in the playoff when Abraham Ancer birdied the second extra hole. In October 2021, Matsuyama won the

Zozo Championship The Zozo Championship (Japanese: ''ゾゾ・チャンピオンシップ'') is a professional golf tournament in Inzai, Chiba Prefecture, which is located in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA ...

at Narashino Country Club. The Zozo Championship is the only PGA Tour event held in Japan. Matsuyama won by five strokes over Cameron Tringale and

Brendan Steele Brendan Dean Steele (born April 5, 1983) is an American professional golfer. He played predominantly on the PGA Tour, where he had three tournament victories, prior to joining LIV Golf in 2023. Early years Born in Idyllwild, California, Steele p ...

2022

On 16 January 2022, Matsuyama won the Sony Open in Hawaii; having made up a five-shot deficit on the back nine to get into a

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

with Russell Henley, he made an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

on the first extra hole to claim the victory. It was his eighth win on the PGA Tour, tying

K. J. Choi Choi Kyung-Ju ( ko, 최경주; born 19 May 1970), commonly known as K. J. Choi, is a South Korean professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Since turning pro in 1994, he has won more than twenty pr ...

for most tour victories by an Asian-born player. On 2 June 2022, at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, Matsuyama was disqualified midway through his first round due to having a white paint-like substance on the face of his 3-wood. The substance was said to have been applied by his equipment technician to help with alignment. Matsuyama qualified for the International team at the

2022 Presidents Cup The 2022 Presidents Cup was the 14th edition of the Presidents Cup golf competition, held at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, from September 22–25, 2022. This was Quail Hollow's first time hosting the Presidents Cup. The matches ...

; he won one, tied one and lost three of the five matches he played.

Personal life

Matsuyama's wife is Mei (married in January 2017) and his daughter is Kanna (born in July 2017).

Amateur wins

*2010

Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament. It is played at various locations throughout Asia-Pacific. It is organized by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and was first played in 2009. It was organized in c ...

*2011 Japan Collegiate Championship,

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referred ...

*2012 Japan Collegiate Championship

Professional wins (17)

PGA Tour wins (8)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

, but unofficial money event. PGA Tour playoff record (4–1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (8)

''*Note: The 2013 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.'' * The Japan Open Golf Championship is also a Japan major championship. Japan Golf Tour playoff record (2–0)

Other wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Summary

* Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (2020 PGA – 2022 Open Championship, current) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2013 U.S. Open – 2013 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Cancelled after the first round due to the

World Golf Championships

Wins (2)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order before 2015.'' ¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

pandemic
WD = Withdrew
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied

PGA Tour career summary

* ''As of the 2021 season''

Team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...

(representing Japan):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

(representing Japan):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

(winners) *

Bonallack Trophy The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific. The first compe ...

(representing Asia/Pacific): 2012 Professional *

(representing the International team):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, 2022 * World Cup (representing Japan):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matsuyama, Hideki Japanese male golfers Japan Golf Tour golfers PGA Tour golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Olympic golfers of Japan Golfers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Golfers at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Japan Universiade medalists in golf Universiade gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Ehime Prefecture Sportspeople from Sendai 1992 births Living people