Hideki Matsuyama has long been one of the best players in the world.
He rubberstamped this status by winning the Genesis Invitational in 2024, one of the most prestigious non-major events on the PGA Tour, which was his 10th win on the circuit.
The Japanese star’s crowning moment of his career so far was winning the Masters in 2021. He held off Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth to win his first major title.
But when Matsuyama tapped in and lapped up the applause from the patrons at Augusta National, it was his caddie who created one of the most memorable and wholesome moments in the history of the event.
Shota Hayafuji put the yellow flagstick back into the 18th hole, removed his hat and bowed his head next to it. This image has become a staple of the 2021 Masters and in the career of Matsuyama.
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Hideki Matsuyama caddie bows on 18th at Augusta National
“My heart was full of gratitude and it was the natural thing for me to bow and show respect to the Masters,” Hayafuji said in an email to the Caddie Network. “I was saying ‘Thank you very much!’
“We really didn’t celebrate as we were all busy packing and getting ready to go back to Japan – We were always planning to fly commercial all the way to Japan. On the plane to Japan a lot of people congratulated Hideki. It was amazing.”
“When the final putt went in, I really wasn’t thinking of anything,” Matsuyama said after winning. “But then when I saw my caddie, Shota, and hugged him, I was happy for him because this is his first victory on the bag. And then it started sinking in – the joy of being a Masters champion.”
Shota began caddying for Matsuyama in 2019 and the pair had known each other since junior high school in Japan. They went to the same high school and also attended Tohoku Fukushi University.
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Matsuyama won three times in the 2016/2017 PGA Tour season, but winning the Masters allowed him and Shota to enjoy a victory together for the first time. He has since won the Zozo Championship in front of his home crowd, the Sony Open, the FedEx St. Jude Championship and in the early part of the 2024 season at Riviera.
Shota and Matsuyama are certainly a close pair having also shared the fairways at the Presidents Cup and the 2024 Olympic Games too. Shota shared an image to his Instagram page after Matsuyama bagged a bronze medal for his country.
“I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere created by the audience that was completely different than I usually feel,” he wrote in the post (translated).
They know how to win tournaments together and who is to say Matsuyama and Shota can’t go on to win more majors in the near future?
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