Hideki Matsuyama works with the new caddy at FedEx St. Jude Championship.
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Hideki Matsuyama was robbed. He lost his wallet. And his coach. And his caddy.
But not his golf game.
Matsuyama spoke to the media Thursday after his opening round at FedEx St. Jude Championship and explained in detail about the unusual few weeks. After winning the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, Matsuyama and his team – his coach Shota Hayafuji and his coach Mikihito Kuromiya – decided to spend one night in London. He said they were having dinner in town when they noticed something was missing.
“We didn't even know it happened. We had just had a friendly dinner, and Shota was the first to say: 'hey, where's my bag?' Of course it worried us, but we didn't really know it had happened. It just happened in an instant.”
The perpetrator, Matsuyama said, “just took it and ran away.”
A nightmare of travel ensued.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Matsuyama said. “Fortunately, I only lost my wallet, but Shota, my caddy, as well [my] the coach lost his passports, and we are trying hard now to get their visas back in line, and hopefully we can join as a team as soon as possible.”
There is never a good time for a stolen passport, and given the schedule, this is a critical time for Matsuyama to perform at his best. After a third-place finish at the Olympics, he has been hoping to take the momentum into the final three games of the PGA Tour season; 8th in the FedEx Cup standings is sure to make it to East Lake, where he'll hope to challenge for the $18 million final prize.
Meanwhile, his coach and caddy returned to Japan, where they will work on changing passports. Hayafuji, Matsuyama said, may arrive in the US in time for the Tour Championship. Kuromiya probably won't.
But Matsuyama, who still had his passport, was still able to go to Memphis, Tenn. He also managed to secure a last-minute caddy, Taiga Tabuchi, who regularly plays for Ryo Hisatsune. With Hisatsune out of the playoffs, this was supposed to be an off week for Tabuchi. But when Matsuyama calls, he answers.
“He is the best player in Asia, so I am very happy to accept this offer,” Tabuchi told the team. Commercial Appeal in an interview here. “I also play for Ryo Hisatsune, and he and Hideki played practice rounds together, so I know Hideki well. So, I think that's why he gave it to me.”
The sight of Matsuyama without his longtime caddy (who you can see in his iconic bow on the 18th green after Matsuyama's Masters win) took some getting used to — even for him.
“He reminded me of the first time Shota was in my bag. We worked on a few things. “Actually, that was the biggest thing today, working with my player,” he said.
On the other hand, the rest of his game looked familiar. After a rocky start – he found water on the par-5 third hole to fall to one over par – he hit it well and had a terrific day on the greens, leading the field in strokes gained en route to a 7-birdie. A five-under 65 put him in second place after the first round, one shot behind leader Chris Kirk.
But the robbery, he says, is “completely forgotten.” How did you avoid distractions? Matsuyama made it sound easy.
“My work is the same. It's just playing golf,” he said. “I talk to my coach every night on the phone. I have a good caddy. Taiga did a great job today, so we'll just see how it goes.”
Just one last mystery, then: with their stolen wallets, how were they going to pay for dinner?
“We have already paid the check,” said Matsuyama.
In other words, they couldn't even sneak free food without a deal. But if Matsuyama keeps up this level of play, he'll be able to buy a new wallet — and a nice check to go with it.
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