[DeanFL]

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BTW - did anyone catch when Hidecki's caddy placed the flag back into the 18th hole after the win - and BOWED to the golf course.

OMG... so touching, and SO Japanese.
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[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

We were going to give up watching as it all looked a bit predictable.
Then BOOM! Game on.
Very exciting ending.
Pressure on Mr. H Matsuyama must have been so intense.
Worthy winner.

Funny when Matsuyama was standing over his second shot at 15, I was thinking two things. One was "Why not lay up and hit a lob wedge third shot and try to make birdie like Patrick Reid did in 2018?" You might remember that Reid did not go for one par five in four days and played them well under par.

The second thing that I thought was when they said that he had four iron from 226 that with his adrenaline flowing and the shot being downhill, it was too much club. He had already his it over a couple of greens and he or his caddy should have been thinking about that. That shot went one and a half clubs too far and nearly cost him the tournament. The fifteenth green is much deeper on the right and the bunker is not a bad place to be a Shauffele showed. There is also a lot more room over that side of the green and over the bunker. Balls that hit short of the bunker don't tend to go back down into the water like they do in the middle of the green and to the right. At that point, he should have been playing, as Nick Faldo loves to say, "for safety". By either laying up or hitting it to the right he'd be taking bogey out of the equation.

But then again, I wasn't playing in The Masters. I've never been a situation with quite that much pressure. But I can tell you that when you're playing well, you tend to start to believe that you can do anything. Tour players, especially, have so much confidence that it some times can get them into trouble.

I'd love to know what was going on in his mind and his caddy's mind at that point. Did his caddy discuss laying up or hitting it right. Watching him, it doesn't seem as though there is all that much communication between him and his caddy. Some guys like a lot of input and others don't. A good caddy knows when to speak up and when to shut up.

We don't know what went on in their minds or what conversations took place and I certainly couldn't know from my sofa, but I thought it was the wrong play before he hit the shot.

[jebartle]

Originally Posted by Dr Winston O Boogie jr

Funny when Matsuyama was standing over his second shot at 15, I was thinking two things. One was "Why not lay up and hit a lob wedge third shot and try to make birdie like Patrick Reid did in 2018?" You might remember that Reid did not go for one par five in four days and played them well under par.

The second thing that I thought was when they said that he had four iron from 226 that with his adrenaline flowing and the shot being downhill, it was too much club. He had already his it over a couple of greens and he or his caddy should have been thinking about that. That shot went one and a half clubs too far and nearly cost him the tournament. The fifteenth green is much deeper on the right and the bunker is not a bad place to be a Shauffele showed. There is also a lot more room over that side of the green and over the bunker. Balls that hit short of the bunker don't tend to go back down into the water like they do in the middle of the green and to the right. At that point, he should have been playing, as Nick Faldo loves to say, "for safety". By either laying up or hitting it to the right he'd be taking bogey out of the equation.

But then again, I wasn't playing in The Masters. I've never been a situation with quite that much pressure. But I can tell you that when you're playing well, you tend to start to believe that you can do anything. Tour players, especially, have so much confidence that it some times can get them into trouble.

I'd love to know what was going on in his mind and his caddy's mind at that point. Did his caddy discuss laying up or hitting it right. Watching him, it doesn't seem as though there is all that much communication between him and his caddy. Some guys like a lot of input and others don't. A good caddy knows when to speak up and when to shut up.

We don't know what went on in their minds or what conversations took place and I certainly couldn't know from my sofa, but I thought it was the wrong play before he hit the shot.

The shot of Matsuyama was a low bullet and sure the downhill lie contributed to shot and that was one of reasons for going over green into water.

Sure was a fun tournament to watch. I'm sure the weight of winning Masters for Japan was unbearable pressure and stress but managed it very well.

[tvbound]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

We were going to give up watching as it all looked a bit predictable.
Then BOOM! Game on.
Very exciting ending.
Pressure on Mr. H Matsuyama must have been so intense.
Worthy winner.

Once again, the old adage that "the tournament doesn't really begin, until the back nine on Sunday" came true. Hideki is a very worthy champion. And regardless of what one personally thinks of Tony Romo, it looks like his praise and predictions of Will Zalatoris are spot on.

[tvbound]

Originally Posted by DeanFL

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BTW - did anyone catch when Hidecki's caddy placed the flag back into the 18th hole after the win - and BOWED to the golf course.

OMG... so touching, and SO Japanese.
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.

That was truly a class gesture.

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by jebartle

The shot of Matsuyama was a low bullet and sure the downhill lie contributed to shot and that was one of reasons for going over green into water.

Sure was a fun tournament to watch. I'm sure the weight of winning Masters for Japan was unbearable pressure and stress but managed it very well.

True, it came out low but that is to be expected from a downhill lie. It may also have been the case that he was trying to hit a fade, which is also expected from a downhill lie, but double crossed it. But that's exactly why the play was to hit wedge, wedge.

He was lucky to make bogie. It could have been a lot worse.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by DeanFL

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BTW - did anyone catch when Hidecki's caddy placed the flag back into the 18th hole after the win - and BOWED to the golf course.

OMG... so touching, and SO Japanese.
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Didnt watch it but do like it when people show class.