Hideki Matsuyama

Hideki Matsuyama (松山 英樹) is a Japanese professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

He is the first-ever Japanese professional golfer to win a men's major golf championship – the 2021 Masters Tournament.

As of February 2024, Matsuyama has 18 worldwide wins, eight career top-10 finishes in major championships, and five Presidents Cup 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 winner, two-time winner of the Asian Amateur Championship, and most recently winner of the Genesis Invitational.

His nine wins on the PGA Tour make him the most successful Japanese member of the PGA Tour in history.

In his first full season as a PGA tour member, he finished 28th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Matsuyama was born on 25 February 1992 in Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan.

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, in search of a better golf environment.

Matsuyama studied at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai.

The win was the first for a Japanese player since Ryuji Imada in 2008.

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 Japan Golf Tour.

In 2011, Matsuyama won the gold medal 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 Japan Golf Tour while still an amateur.

In August 2012, Matsuyama reached number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

The win moved him to 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest in his career.

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.

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

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

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

In just seven PGA Tour-sanctioned events, Matsuyama had six top-25 finishes, including a T-6 at the 2013 Open Championship.

For 2014, Matsuyama qualified for the PGA Tour through non-member earnings.

Matsuyama earned his first PGA Tour win at the 2014 Memorial Tournament, beating Kevin Na in a playoff and moving to a career-high OWGR ranking of 13th.

Matsuyama would win his sixth Japan Golf Tour event late in the 2014 season.

In November, the victory came at the Dunlop Phoenix in a playoff over Hiroshi Iwata.

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

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

He finished 16th in the FedEx Cup standings.

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

He secured his victory on the fourth hole.

On 16 October 2016, Matsuyama captured the Japan Open by three strokes over Yuta Ikeda and Lee Kyoung-hoon.

He attained his highest rank of second in the Official World Golf Rankings for men in June 2017.