Golf

Hideki Matsuyama Puts on Late Surge to Finish 21st at Masters

AP
Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, hits from the pine straw on the first hole during the final round at the Masters golf tournament, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga.

By Yu Hirasawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Sportswriter

13:17 JST, April 14, 2025

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hideki Matsuyama walked off the 18th green with mixed feelings. He had just carded the day’s best score in the final round at the Masters, but it had come after having the worst round the day before had knocked him out of championship contention.

“It was good,” Matsuyama said with a grim expression on his face, after shooting a 7-under 66 on Sunday that propelled him into a tie for 21st place at 2-under 286, nine shots behind winner Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy won the title in a playoff with Justin Rose, who also shot the day’s low score of 66 at Augusta National Golf Club.

On Saturday, Matsuyama struggled throughout the round with his shots and putts, eventually finishing with a 7-over 79 and ending his chances of repeating his title run from 2021.

“I wanted to make up for what I did yesterday,” Matsuyama said.

Perhaps feeling less pressure by not being among the leaders, he got off to a good start, chalking up four birdies on the front nine. He added three more birdies before closing with a bogey on No. 18, showing the skills that made him the first-ever Masters champion from Asia.

Although Matsuyama won the PGA Tour’s season-opening tournament, The Sentry, he has yet to achieve a top-10 finish since, and failed to make the cut at his last two outings before the Masters. “I wasn’t playing such bad golf,” he said, keeping his spirits up heading into Augusta.

But in the 14th Masters of his career, some things never change. “It’s really hard,” he said.