Hideki Matsuyama made history at the 2021 Masters after becoming the first Japanese to win a major golf tournament at Georgia’s Augusta National.
Upon receiving the coveted green jacket from 2020 champion Dustin Johnson, Matsuyama offered a few words about his private life, specifically his wife Mei and daughter Kanna.
“Today I thought about them all the time,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter.
Matsuyama finished the April 2021 tournament with a total of 10 minors, and defeated US runner-up Will Zalatoris. He later celebrated on the green with caddy Shota Hayafuji.
“I’m very happy to play well for them,” Matsuyama continued of his family.
In August 2017, Matsuyama surprised the media after revealing that he and his wife Mei had secretly married in January of that year. The couple had also welcomed their baby girl in July.
While discussing his startling revelation, Matsuyama said no one had expressed interest in his personal affairs in the past.
“Nobody really asked me if I was married, so I didn’t have to answer that question. But I felt that after the PGA it would be a good time, because our baby was born and I thought it would be a good time to let everyone know, ”Matsuyama said at the time, according to Golf.com.
Matsuyama’s Pats Tour profile lists wife Mei and her daughter Kanna, in addition to their $ 33.2 million professional income.
Also, adding to Matsuyama’s wife’s mystery, the golf star’s caddy at the 2016 Hero World Challenge was a woman named Mei Inui, months before she revealed the news about her marriage.
The athlete praised his caddy at the time for keeping him calm under pressure.
“When things get tough, I sometimes let my head down and shut up,” Matsuyama said, according to USA Today. “But Mei was always positive throughout, even the last nine, and it gave me good vibes, which really helped me get in.”