MEMPHIS, Tenn — Japanese superstar Hideki Matsuyama won the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship at -17, despite some unusual circumstances.
The Olympic Bronze medalist impressed fans this weekend with his stellar swing and near perfect putting but also because he was without his longtime caddie Shota Hayafuji and coach Mikihito Kuromiya.
"We didn’t even know what happened," Matsuyama said. "We were just having a friendly dinner and Shota was the first one to say, 'Hey, where’s my bag?' Of course, it was frustrating."
Stolen passports and visas on a stopover in London on the way home from the Olympics forced Matsuyama to find an emergency caddie — then entered fellow countryman Taiga Tabuchi.
“He just text me and said, 'If you’re off, you can come caddie for me' and I said, ‘Okay'," Tabuchi said. "I was enjoying the break in Japan, but it’s like Hideki is the top player in Asia and top 10 in the world, so I was happy to be his caddie.”
This year's dynamic duo of TPC Southwind have played practice rounds in the past but have never worked together.
"There’s a learning curve when you have a new caddie and trying to work things out together," Matsuyama said.
Most pro golfers have the same guy on their bag for years, some their entire career. But Matsuyama didn't let the newness of it all chip away at him.
"My job is the same, just play golf," Matsuyama said. "I talk to my coach every night on the phone. I've got a great caddie. Taiga did a great job.”
While Matsuyama calls Taibuchi 'great,' the first time caddie at the Championship has a different assessment of his time with the Japanese superstar.
“Basically, I'm just carrying the bag," Taibuchi said. "You know just trying not to bother him, had a little bit of conversation with him, but I did pretty much nothing.”
While the rock star caddie might be selling himself a big short, one thing he's not doing is taking this moment of wearing the name of the guy he admires on his back for granted.
“I’ve learned a lot from him, like how to prepare for a tournament, even how to read a green, how to measure the distance," Taibuchi said. "Every moment I have, I'm so happy about it."
Matsuyama and Taibuchi will stay together until Hayafuji can get his new documents.