Hideki Matsuyama
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA — Hideki Matsuyama’s bid to become the first Japanese man to win a major crumbled in a 1-over-par final-round 73 on April 10 at the Masters Golf Tournament.
The 24-year-old Matsuyama said, “I started out as usual, but despite putting myself in a good position, the number of mistakes I made with my irons astounded me. Mentally, it was demanding.”
It marked a second consecutive top-10 finish for Matsuyama, after placing fifth last year. He finished five shots back of the winner this year, compared with seven strokes back in 2015.
Matsuyama posted a double bogey and three bogeys on the front nine, with birdies on Nos. 2 and 8. The front-nine 39 left him needing a back-nine charge for a higher finish.
After a birdie on No. 10, he was within three shots as late as the 13th hole. But he spun his wheels with pars the rest of the way, while Danny Willett raced to a 5-under finish.
Jason Day called it a “disappointing week” at the Masters Tournament.
The No. 1-ranked player in the world was hoping to add his first green jacket and second major title in a row. Instead, he closed with 73 and finished in a tie for 10th place at 1-over.
“Although it was a disappointing week from tee to green, it wasn’t that bad,” Day said. “I’ve just got to keep working hard. And then hopefully the hard work will pay off. But I’ll look at what I did wrong and try and improve that in future tournaments here. But it is what it is. I’ve got to keep fighting and keep trying to win as many as I can.”
The 28-year-old Australian, who won the 2015 PGA Championship, took home the Arnold Palmer Invitational title last month before claiming the World Golf Championships-Match Play on March 27.