Former Masters champion prepares for PGA Tour event short-handed

Hideki Matsuyama. Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports

Former Masters champion prepares for PGA Tour event severely short-handed following robbery

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated Aug 14, 2024 4:19 PM ET

Hideki Matsuyama told Golf Digest Japan in a recent interview that he, his caddie and coach were all robbed in London last week.

Now, as Matsuyama tees off at this week's FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, thousands of miles away from the scene of the crime, the former Masters champion will be playing severely shorthanded.

As video shows Hideki Matsuyama is in Memphis for the @FedExChamp. Unfortunately his caddie & coach were robbed in Paris. In the robbery passports/visas were taken. Both are back in Japan trying to get new passports & visas. Hideki will have Taiga Tabuchi on his bag this week. pic.twitter.com/nv7h2pPc79
— Todd Lewis (@ToddLewisGC) August 14, 2024

Things actually could've been worse for the 32-year-old. Matsuyama still has his bronze medal from the recently concluded Summer Olympics in Paris and his passport, which weren't stolen during the robbery.

The Memphis tournament is the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs and will take place from Thursday to Sunday. The top 50 finishers from the weekend will move on to next week's BMW Championship and the top 30 in that event will play at the Tour Championship from Aug. 29-Sept. 1.

The 2021 green jacket victor said he wasn't sure if his support team would make it in time for next week's tournament if he advances that far.

"There's a chance they'll make it (to the BMW Championship), but we have to go into it thinking it's close to zero," Matsuyama said, per the report.

Victor Barbosa

Victor Barbosa is a passionate follower of MLB, the NBA and NFL, with a deep interest in Boston-area teams. He graduated from Springfield College -- The Birthplace of Basketball -- in 2013 with a degree in Communications-Sports Journalism. Previous bylines include FanSided, Heavy and Syracuse

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