Matsuyama's mastery to elevate Asia's game

"There are a few of us, including myself, that see this win and it makes us believe we can go out and win the Masters in the near future. My hope would be that those same feelings will carry over to the kids in Japan."

CT Pan of Chinese Taipei witnessed first-hand how good Matsuyama is when they partnered for two matches in the Presidents Cup two years ago. They won both their four-ball matches against Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed. Pan marvels at how the 29-year-old Matsuyama, now a six-time PGA Tour winner, handles the pressure and expectations of golf-crazy Japan.

"I am so happy for him. He was my teammate and we became good friends. I think he carries a lot of expectations of Japanese fans. Japan is a country where many people love golf and I believe they were expecting their own Masters winner all the time. He has a great attitude in his practice and in competition," said Pan.

India's Anirban Lahiri hopes golf in his native country will be inspired by Matsuyama's Masters heroics."We are all really happy and proud of him. Anyone who knows him－and I'm fortunate enough to know him a little bit－says he's just a fantastic guy," said Lahiri.

"He doesn't say much and he's soft spoken. He's got a big heart and truly loves the game and playing his best all the time. I know how much emotion he probably felt and still feels. It's probably still sinking in for him.

"Hideki does a lot of amazing things for golf in Asia. The Olympics are in Japan and the country will be boasting its own Masters champion heading into the Olympics ... how cool is that?"

Silver to green

Matsuyama became only the seventh player to go from winning a silver cup as the lowest-scoring amateur at the Masters to a green jacket as the tournament's winner.

The others were Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Ben Crenshaw, Jack Nicklaus and Cary Middlecoff.

The shortest turnaround was Woods, who was low amateur in 1995 and won in 1997. The longest stretch was Mickelson, who was low amateur in 1991 and won his first green jacket in 2004.

So that leads to the question: Who's next?

There are three leading candidates, and that starts with Bryson DeChambeau because he already has a major (US Open). DeChambeau tied for 21st as low amateur in 2016. He hasn't cracked the top 25 as a pro.

Patrick Cantlay was low amateur in 2012. He briefly had the lead after an eagle on the 15th hole in the final round only to bogey the next two holes and tied for ninth. Viktor Hovland was low amateur in 2019. He has won twice on the PGA Tour already. He tied for 21st in his Masters debut as a pro this year.