Masters Champion Hideki Matsuyama Robbed While Eating Dinner In London
Hideki Matsuyama was enjoying a celebratory dinner with his caddie and coach in London when a thief made off with their bags. The Japanese golfer’s team now face a passport nightmare
Hideki Matsuyama discussed his recent robbery in London (Image: Getty Images)
Japanese golf star Hideki Matsuyama was shockingly robbed while enjoying a celebratory dinner in London after securing an Olympic bronze medal.
The 32-year-old golfer and his team were dining at a posh eatery in central London when they realised their belongings had vanished. Matsuyama disclosed that, fortunately, his 2024 Olympic bronze medal and passport were safe, but his wallet had been nicked.
“Yeah, [the thief] just took it and ran,” he recounted.
His caddie, Shota Hayato, and coach, Mikihito Kuromiya, weren’t as fortunate, with both having their passports swiped from their bags. The pair now face the hassle of returning to Japan to resolve the issue.
Tyrrell Hatton makes LIV Golf promise to Greg Norman – ‘That isn’t going to change’ Rory McIlroy shows true colours with post-round actions at FedEx St Jude Championship “We didn’t even know it happened,” explained Matsuyama through a translator. “We were just having a friendly dinner, and Shota was the first one Hey, where is my bag? Of course it was frustrating, but we really didn’t know it happened. It was just kind of all of a sudden..”
Describing the incident as unfortunate, Matsuyama expressed relief that only his wallet was lost. However, he highlighted the more severe predicament faced by his caddie and coach, who are scrambling to sort out their visas.
He hopes they can rejoin the team swiftly. The uncertainty looms over whether Matsuyama’s coach and caddie will manage to accompany him during a critical phase of the 2024 PGA season.
Hideki Matsuyama has enjoyed a longstanding partnership with caddie Shota Hayato ( Image:
Getty Images) Matsuyama, who currently sits at number eight in the 2024 FedEx Cup standings, has proven himself as one of golf’s most gifted players in recent years. The 2021 Masters Champion boasts nine PGA wins and 10 major top-10 finishes throughout his 13-year career.
He’s set to play the FedEx St Jude Championship with stand-in caddie Taiga Tabuchi, who typically works for Ryo Hisatune. Matsuyama is currently third on the leaderboard at TPC Southwind in an event that’s still underway.
“Kind of reminded me of the first time Shota was on my bag,” Matsuyama said about the caddie switch. “We kind of worked through a couple things. Really that was the main thing today is having teamwork with my caddie. Playing well, and I don’t know how Shota is going to take it, but we’ll work that out.”
When asked if his coach and caddie would be able to attend next week’s BMW Championship in Colorado, Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan: “There’s a chance they’ll make it, but we have to go into it thinking it’s close to zero,”.
Matsuyama will undoubtedly want his trusted caddie by his side for the PGA Tour Championship in two weeks: “Shota will make it, I think but my coach probably won’t.”
The Japanese golfer currently ranks 12th in the official World Golf Rankings (WGR), sandwiched between Tommy Fleetwood and Sahith Theegala. He’s previously been ranked as high as second, which was back in 2017.
