Fast Start Sparks Matsuyama's Major Ambition

Augusta, Georgia, United States: Drawing inspiration from the Augusta National Women’s Amateur triumph of Tsubasa Kajitani five days ago, Hideki Matsuyama wasted no time in putting himself into contention at the 85th Masters Tournament.

Matsuyama’s three-under-par 69 saw him finish the opening round in joint second place alongside American Brian Harman – four strokes behind England’s Justin Rose who battled back from being two-over through seven holes to post a blistering 65.

“What she did was fantastic,” said Matsuyama, referring to 17-year-old Kajitani’s feat of becoming the first Asian to savour success at Augusta National.

“I wish I could have seen it. I was playing in Texas, so I wasn’t able to see her play, but hats off to her. Hopefully, I can follow in her footsteps and make Japan proud,” added 29-year-old Matsuyama, a two-time former Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner who is bidding to become the first male Japanese Major champion and the first Asian to don a Green Jacket as Masters champion.

Making his 10th successive Masters appearance, Matsuyama took advantage of the par-fives, snaring birdies on the second and 13th and sinking an eagle on the eighth from 30 feet. A three-putt bogey on 17 was the only blemish on his card as he ended the day as one of only three players to break 70. The first-round scoring average was 74.52.

“The greens were firm and fast. It was very important to hit your second shot on the proper side of the pin, and I was able to do that. I felt very good about my round today,” said Matsuyama, who claimed low amateur honours on his debut here in 2011, ending tied 27th.

Since then he’s twice finished in the top-10 and three times in the top-20. His best performance came in 2015 when he placed fifth.

He shot back-to-back 68s last November before fading at the weekend with a pair of 72s to finish joint 13th. His 69 on Thursday was his eighth consecutive round of par or better at Augusta National.

“It’s my 10th year, but I’ve never seen the greens so firm and fast. It was like a new course for me today, and I was fortunate to get it around well,” said Matsuyama, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour.

Kim Si-woo began his fifth successive Masters appearance with a 71 to share eighth place while fellow-Korean Im Sung-jae, joint runner-up here last November, stumbled to a 77 which included a quadruple-bogey nine on the par-five 15th where he found water twice. Chinese Taipei’s CT Pan, tied seventh last year, came home in 79.

Kim featured on the leaderboard for much of the day with a controlled display. He made five birdies but was left to rue bogeys on 15 and 16.

“I just escaped not losing my mind and just kept trying,” said 25-year-old Kim, who earned his third PGA Tour victory in January.

Kim was unfazed by the contrast in playing conditions compared to last November. “It’s really different. Five months ago it was soft and a little bit slow, versus now it’s super firm and fast. It’s a little harder I think, but it’s good for me. I like the fast greens,” said Kim, who has finished tied 24th, tied 21st and tied 34th in the past three years after missing the cut on his debut in 2017.