MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In the harsh glare of the hot Memphis sun, Hideki Matsuyama nearly melted down Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.
Instead, he rose to the occasion in the final stages of the fourth round, finishing strong to score a two-stroke victory over Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland. On the way, he had to overcome great hardship.
Matsuyama faced caddie issues last week on his way back from the Paris Olympics. The whirlwind week that Taiga Tabuchi, Matsuyama’s emergency-turned-winner caddie, had included a well-documented and oft-discussed putter switch for Matsuyama, which spurred his stellar performance.
Matsuyama finished with an even-par 70 on Sunday, but needed back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to hold off Schauffele and Hovland, who both finished 15 under. After his victory, Matsuyama was effusive in his praise for his emergency caddie.
“This is the first time I worked with (Taiga),” said Matsuyama. “In fact, I hadn’t really spoken to him very much prior to this week. I knew he was caddying with Ryo, so we did play some practice rounds together. (But) on the course, you have a routine. But with the new caddie, that routine changes. So, we were working through that all week. But (he) was a great help to me. (He) helped me read a lot of putts.”
Matsuyama is one of 50 golfers to advance to next week’s BMW Championship at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado.
Reflecting on the adversity he’s faced since Paris, Matsuyama, chuckling as the FedEx St. Jude Championship glimmered in front of him, offered a interesting perspective.
“Maybe because of that, I won this week,” he said
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