[ad_1]
Hideki Matsuyama’s return from the Paris 2024 Olympics did not go as planned.
Matsuyama, his caddy and his coach were all robbed in London while returning from France to compete in this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, which is the first stop in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Matsuyama’s wallet was stolen, but his passport and new Olympic bronze medal were not confiscated. His cadet, Shota Hayato, and his coach, Mikihito Kuromiya, had their passports and visas stolen.
So while Matsuyama continued on his way to Memphis, Hayato and Kuromiya had to return home to Japan. They have applied for expedited passports and visas so they can return to the United States and join Matsuyama during the PGA Tour playoffs, but it is unclear when they will be able to do so.
“There is a chance they will succeed [to next week’s tournament in Colorado]but we have to go there thinking that it is close to zero”, Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan.
“I’m going to play golf like I’m going back to the way I was before I had a coach. I feel like all the responsibility is on me.”
Matsuyama will instead have Taiga Tabuchi on his bag this week in Tennessee. Tabuchi normally caddies for fellow Japanese golfer Ryo Hisatsune.
“I’m glad he agreed,” Matsuyama said. “He worked with Hisatsune this year, so I think he knows the ropes, and he speaks English, so I can count on him.”
Matsuyama has won nine times during his PGA Tour career, including earlier this season at the Genesis Invitational. The former Masters champion won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics earlier this month and was on the podium with gold medalist Scottie Scheffler and silver medalist Tommy Fleetwood. Matsuyama enters TPC Southwind this week ranked 12th in the Official World Golf Rankings and eighth in the FedEx Cup standings.
The top 50 in the field this week will qualify for next week’s BMW Championship outside Denver. Next, the top 30 will travel to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta to finish the 2024 season.