All while reveling in his triumph at the third spot in Le Golf National, the golfer's joy was marred by an unpleasant twist with thieves stealing items from him and his team members Shota Hayafuji and Mikihito Kuromiya.
According to Golf Digest Japan, before this disappointing incident took place, Matsuyama and his team had traveled to the UK, stopping over ahead of their trip to Memphis, Tennessee.
Despite his victory at the 2021 Masters, Matsuyama is now heading into the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind without his usual support crew.
Details have come to light that the crooks made off with the passports of both Hayafuji and Kuromiya and also swiped Matsuyama's wallet fortunately, his prized Olympic bronze remained safe.
In the aftermath of the theft, his caddie and coach booked it back to Japan, desperately trying to replace their stolen travel docs and visas. Musing over the chaos left by the heist, Matsuyama expressed concerns over having his regular team by his side for the upcoming FedEx Cup Playoffs, saying: "There's a chance they'll make it, but we have to go into it thinking it's close to zero."
The golf pro has had to implement a contingency plan for his time at TPC Southwind, announcing that Taiga Tabuchi will be taking over as his caddie. He expressed: "I'm glad he accepted. He's worked with Hisatsugu [Ryo] this year, so I think he knows the ropes, and he can speak English, so I can rely on him."
"I'm going to play golf as if I went back to the way I was before I had a coach. I feel like all the responsibility is on me," he continued, keeping an upbeat attitude in spite of the adjustments. "I'm looking forward to that for the first time in a while. I want to pass on to him (Tabuchi) what I've cultivated with Shota on the course."
The esteemed Japanese golfer did his nation proud by clinching a bronze medal in Paris, carding a 6-under 65 to end up at 17-under in total. Reflecting on his success, he mentioned: "I missed a medal in Tokyo, so I'm glad I got one but I still have mixed feelings because the gold medallist was next to me on the podium."
"No spectators were allowed in Tokyo due to the coronavirus pandemic, so it was sad. I really enjoyed playing here this week in front of an enthusiastic gallery."
"This is truly incredible. Twelve years of effort finally paid off," he commented, further observing: "Seeing the enthusiasm of this week's gallery, I felt that golf is becoming recognized as an Olympic sport. It was a lot of fun."
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