Can Anyone Catch Hideki Matsuyama at The Masters?

Hideki Matsuyama took advantage of the change in conditions after the rain delay at the Masters on Saturday and put himself in the best position to slip into the coveted green jacket. What’s remarkable is that, should he go on to win, he would be the first male Japanese player to win the Masters or any major in golf. It is a lot of pressure for one man to endure.

Four strokes back are four excellent golfers, Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman, Will Zalatoris and Justin Rose. Of the group, Rose has the pedigree to be able to win a major because he has done it already. For everyone else, it would be a first, and that brings a host of problems, specifically final round nerves for whoever has the lead.

However, the big question for Sunday is will Matsuyama’s game hold up through the final 18 holes?

The chasers have to work hard to catch him. If Matsuyama plays par golf for 18 holes, Schauffele, Leishman, Zalatoris or Rose have to post better than 4-under par, something that almost no golfer has been able to do all week because of the difficult course conditions. That’s a 68, if Matsuyama is even par on Sunday.

Only Rose and Matsuyama have posted 65s this week. Only Tony Finau and Bernd Wiesberger have carded 66s. Everyone else in the field has scored higher. That means it’s unlikely, but not impossible for anyone else in the field to beat Matsuyama unless he falters.

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What happened in the rain delay to change his game? Even Matsuyama doesn’t know.

“Before the horn blew, I didn’t hit a very good drive, but after the horn blew for the restart, I hit practically every shot exactly how I wanted to,” he explained to media through an interpreter after the third round was completed.

He said during the rain delay, he sat in his car and looked at his phone.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 10: Xander Schauffele of the United States plays his shot from the seventh tee during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Schauffele, who had a front row seat to Matsuyama’s round as his playing partner, said he was glad to play with someone who was going low.

None of the chasers were discouraged by their position.

“It’s moving day. It’s Saturday. You want to play with someone who’s going to shoot 7-under,” Schauffele said. “You’d rather play with someone that’s shooting 65 than shooting 74.”

Schauffele said he was looking for a chance to be in the mix on the last nine holes.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 10: Marc Leishman of Australia looks on from the second green during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

“A lot can happen around here. I’ve seen it,” Leishman said to media after he finished. “You can make up four shots fairly quickly, but you have to do a lot of things right to do that.”

He played with Adam Scott the year he won and with Patrick Reed the year he won. Scott was just one shot behind Angel Cabrera. Reed was leading by three in final round in 2018.

“I’ve seen what you have to do,” he added. “ It’s just a matter of executing and doing it.”

What Leishman said he learned with those experiences is that you can make mistakes and still win, but you can’t make big mistakes and win.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 10: Justin Rose of England plays his shot from the 12th tee during the third round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

The veteran of the group, Rose, also believes he still has a chance for victory.

“This golf course, you’ve just got to keep playing it. Hideki has got to keep playing it,” he said to media after his round, adding that everyone has dips and valleys in a round of golf.

“All the guys chasing at 7-under par are all capable of that little run that Hideki has had, so it’s all up for grabs tomorrow,” Rose noted.

Will Zalatoris is so new to professional golf that at the start of the season, he had no playing status on any tour. But his finish at the Masters, no matter what it is, is likely to confirm that he definitely belongs.

“I’ve been wanting to do this my entire career, and I put myself in a pretty good spot,” he said to media after the third round. “Obviously, I’m four shots back, so I’ve got a good chance.”

Matsuyama, should he win, would become an enormous celebrity in his home country. To date, his best result in a major championship is a 2nd at the 2017 U.S. Open, and that boosted his world ranking to No. 2 at the time. That same season, he won the WGC Bridgestone by firing a 61 in the final round, which tied the course record. He had a 4th at the 2016 PGA, a 5th at the Masters in 2015, and a 6th at the British Open.

Matsuyama played in his first Masters in 2011 as the winner of the Asian Pacific Amateur. He was low amateur that week.

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