Hideki Matsuyama Secures First Major Win for Japan

Hideki Matsuyama Secures First Major Win for Japan

By: Caitlyn Garrity / April 16, 2021

Just this past weekend, professional golfer Hideki Matsuyama made history. He became the first golfer from Japan to win a major, it was the Masters.

This Sunday Hideki Matsuyama secured a one-shot victory and needed no translator when it came to how he felt, “I’m really happy.”

The Masters played at Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia, is home to the best of the best in the name of golf. However, this is the first year that Japan has been represented as a winner in a major tournament.

In lieu of the increasing hate crimes against Asian-Americans, Matsuyama’s win proves to be a historic and important one. The representation of Japanese athletes in American and in the media is a huge step to recognizing the excellence and work of Asian communities. It also has shown that Matsuyama’s win is inspiring other young Japanese golfers to follow in his footsteps and wander into the world of golf.

Last week, lots of people went to driving ranges in Japan to celebrate Matsuyama’s Masters win. The news broke out in broadcasts all over Japan and sparked the nation with joy.

Naoyuki Komatsu, who calls golf broadcasts for GOLFTV Powered by the PGA TOUR in Japantold, told PGA Tour, “General sports fans are happy because we have Naomi Osaka winning Grand Slams in tennis, Shohei Otani pitching and hitting home runs, and now Hideki. We hope he can become the next Ichiro Suzuki, who had such longevity in professional baseball.”

Considering the geographical standpoint of Japan, there had been much discouragement to participate in national competitions due to how far East Japan is. However as golf reaches more areas globally, with Matsuyama’s win, there will hopefully be more Japanese golfers take big titles in golf and other sports.