Ready to Take a Chance Again Version Francaise

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The introduction differs slightly from tournament to tournament, though the general theme never changes.

"The defending Masters champion."

Those words, or some version of them, accept been what Hideki Matsuyama has heard on the start tee of whatever tournament he's played over the last year. And terminal week at the Valero Texas Open, the words seemed to resonate differently — because that'due south when Matsuyama realized that his reign is about to end.

"It was a little sorry," Matsuyama said.

There's ane way to avert that, of course: He merely needs to successfully defend his Masters title, something nobody has done at Augusta National since Tiger Woods in 2002. Matsuyama, the first Japanese human to win a major championship, is hoping a balky neck that has been bothering him for a few weeks is skilful enough on Thursday to give him a legitimate adventure of winning the Masters again.

He went 6 under in a seven-pigsty stretch of the dorsum ix in the third round last yr to take control, then held on with a final-round 73 to beat Will Zalatoris by a shot. Matsuyama has won twice more since: the Zozo Championship in Japan in Oct, then the Sony Open up in Hawaii in Jan.

"Information technology's been a bang-up year," Matsuyama said. "It's neat to exist dorsum hither at Augusta. I feel very proud and honored to be here as the defending champion. Information technology's been a corking year with wins at Zozo and Sony. Last couple of weeks, though, have been a struggle. Hopefully I tin can find my game and exist a worthy defending champion."

That last role is the mystery. The cervix has even him guessing.

The event with the left side of his cervix first presented itself during the second round at Bay Hill last month. He got through that tournament, tying for 20th, and went to Texas last calendar week pain-free and feeling skilful for a couple of days.

And then came Midweek, information technology stiffened upwardly again and Matsuyama eventually withdrew.

"I haven't really been able to hit a full shot, a 100% total shot in a long time, so that's yet a question," Matsuyama said. "Just I experience like the treatment I've been receiving is helping. I'grand on the route to full recovery. ... I think by Thursday I'll be ready to play my best, hopefully."

He showed final year that his best is more enough.

Matsuyama start came to Augusta National every bit an amateur in 2011, getting to the Masters subsequently winning what was then called the Asian Amateur and is now called the Asia-Pacific Amateur. It's a relatively new tournament, having been contested simply 12 times and won past 10 men — three of whom are in this Masters field.

They all played a practice circular together this week besides; Matsuyama was joined by reigning Asia-Pacific winner Keita Nakajima and 2018 winner Takumi Kanaya.

"Post-obit the footsteps of Takumi Kanaya and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, it's an honor to do that," Nakajima said.

Matsuyama expected his playing partners to pepper him with questions about how to play this and that at Augusta National.

Turns out, he was the i driving the conversation.

"If I can be an inspiration to them, it makes me very happy," Matsuyama said. "Hopefully concluding twelvemonth's Masters win will assistance inspire and encourage a lot of young people in Japan to have upward golf and follow in my footsteps. ... I don't know if they were inconversable or what, only I was hoping to exist able to talk more with them."

Which, given Matsuyama'south penchant for privacy, is a bit of a surprising take. He's polite in interviews, even smiling a fleck and giving knowing nods when his best lines drew laughs after getting translated for largely English-speaking reporters on Tuesday, yet would never exist described equally an open up book.

Matsuyama kept the menu for Tuesday dark's Masters Society Dinner — it's more commonly called the Champions Dinner — largely under wraps until information technology was announced that morning. None of his selections was particularly surprising, especially since the theme was to gloat the best of Japanese fare.

Sushi, sashimi and nigiri were to be served as appetizers, along with Yakitori — essentially meaning grilled — chicken skewers.

Miso-glazed black cod with a Japanese goop would exist offered, every bit would the centerpiece: A5 Wagyu ribeye of beef, arguably the finest cutting in the globe, served with mushrooms and vegetables along with a sansho daikon ponzu, a sauce that gets a scrap of a spicy kick from Japanese radishes.

For dessert, Japanese strawberry shortcake — sponge cake with Amaou strawberries, mostly considered Japan'southward best kind, ones that are typically available only through winter and some of leap in that country.

"I'm really looking forrard to the Champions Dinner," Matsuyama said.

It'll provide him a hazard to relish a perk that he's rarely partaken in since winning the Masters. He'll go to vesture his dark-green jacket.

Matsuyama carried the jacket — Masters winners get to take it off the Augusta National property for a twelvemonth before information technology'south supposed to be returned — onto a commercial flight out of Atlanta the twenty-four hour period after winning it a year ago. He tends non to wear it. He's even leery of sending it out for dry cleaning.

"I idea about it and it needed to exist cleaned, only I merely was so worried that something might happen to it," Matsuyama said. "And so I didn't want to allow it out of my sight. I just spent a year looking at it. I oasis't really worn information technology that much, only I await at it a lot. And now I wish I would take worn information technology more."

The introduction on tee boxes changes now. The jacket gets returned. He'll curtain ane over the shoulders of a new champion Sunday.

That is, unless he wins the Masters once again.

___

More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Source: https://www.thestar.com/sports/golf/2022/04/05/matsuyama-returns-to-masters-enjoying-perks-of-a-champion.html

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