No team, no Chick-Fil-A, no problem
Hideki Matsuyama falls/rallies late in Memphis; Spaniard wins U.S. Amateur; LPGA's Coughlin wins again
Hideki Matsuyama and his substitute caddie delivered the goods in Memphis (James Gilbert/PGA Tour via Getty Images)
There’s been an ongoing and good-natured joke with Hideki Matsuyama concerning his love for one bit of American cuisine — Chick-fil-A.
The Japanese star has been known to indulge in the popular fast food, so it was asked about in the aftermath of his victory on Sunday in Memphis, Tenn., at the FedEx St. Jude Championship given that his favorite local restaurant is always closed on Sundays.
“I know,’’ Matsuyama said to laughter at TPC Southwind, where he won for the 10th time on the PGA Tour. “I had Chick-Fil-A last night, and in Denver I think they have Chick-Fil-A. So that’s probably where I’ll celebrate tomorrow.”
Matsuyama is heading to Colorado for the second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs and has every right to celebrate in whatever manner he chooses.
He won the first FedEx playoff event of the year after a tumultuous set of circumstances saw him arrive in Memphis without his coach or his caddie, blow a five-shot lead late on Sunday, then birdie the last two holes to prevail over a charging Xander Schauffele and a resurgent Viktor Hovland.
What was setting up as an easy stroll to victory saw Matsuyama lose four shots over four holes on the back nine, actually falling behind Hovland by a shot with two to play.
A robbery in London following the Olympics in Paris saw Matsuyama lose his wallet but his caddie and coach both lost their passports. Instead of traveling with Matsuyama to the U.S., they were required to return to Japan to get their passports and visas straightened out while Matsuyama headed to Memphis on his own.
Matsuyama explained that the material was stolen by thieves as he, his caddie (Shota Hayafuji) and coach (Mikhito Kuromiya) were eating at a London restaurant.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Matsuyama said. “Luckily, I only lost my wallet, but Shota, my caddie, and the coach, lost their passports, and we’re trying hard now to get their visas back in line, and hopefully we can join up as a team as soon as possible.”
Hayafuji, Matsuyama said, is expected to join him this week in Denver.
Matsuyama was fortunate to not have his passport stolen nor his bronze medal from the Olympic Games.
“We didn’t even know it happened,” Matsuyama said. “We were just having a friendly dinner, and Shota was the first one, ‘Hey, where is my bag?’ Of course it was frustrating, but we really didn’t know it happened. It was just kind of all of a sudden … he just took it and ran.”
Matsuyama hired Taiga Tabuchi, who has caddied for fellow Japanese tour pro Ryo Hisatsune. Matsuyama said Tabuchi did a good job of reading greens during the week.
“Maybe because of that, I won this week,” Matsuyama said after collecting a $3.6 million winner’s check.
Schauffele, with a final-round 63, managed to narrow the gap on Scottie Scheffler in the FedEx Cup standings, although he will need a victory this week at the BMW Championship to have any chance of passing him and taking the top seed and two-shot lead starting at 10-under into the Tour Championship at East Lake.
Hovland was another big winner as he moved into the top 50 in FedEx points from 57th after a frustrating season that saw him struggle for most of the year. His tie for second was just his second top 10 of 2024, the first since finishing third at the PGA Championship.
“Yeah, I’m just hitting it a lot better,’’ Hovland said.