Japan Golf Tour Matsuyama turned professional in April 2013 and won his second professional tournament, the 2013
Tsuruya Open on the Japan Golf Tour. Five weeks later, Matsuyama won his third title on the Japan Golf Tour at the
Diamond Cup Golf tournament. Following a top 10 finish at the
2013 U.S. Open, Matsuyama entered the top 50 of the
Official World Golf Ranking. He won his fourth Japan Golf Tour event in September at the
Fujisankei Classic. Matsuyama would win his fifth Japan Golf Tour event in December at the
Casio World Open. The win also made Matsuyama the first rookie to lead the Japan Tour's money list.
PGA Tour For 2014, Matsuyama qualified for the PGA Tour through non-member earnings. In just seven PGA Tour-sanctioned events, Matsuyama had six top-25 finishes, including a T-6 at the
2013 Open Championship. Matsuyama earned his first PGA Tour win at the
2014 Memorial Tournament, beating
Kevin Na in a playoff and moving to a career-high OWGR ranking of 13th. The win was the first for a Japanese player since
Ryuji Imada in 2008. In his first full season as a PGA tour member, he finished 28th in the FedEx Cup standings. Matsuyama would win his sixth Japan Golf Tour event late in the 2014 season. In November, the victory came at the
Dunlop Phoenix in a playoff over
Hiroshi Iwata. Matsuyama finished fifth at the
2015 Masters Tournament, the best major finish of his career to that point. He finished 16th in the
FedEx Cup standings. In 8–11 October, he played for the International Team in the
2015 Presidents Cup and went 2–1–1 (win–loss–half). On 7 February 2016, Matsuyama won the
Waste Management Phoenix Open in a playoff with
Rickie Fowler. He secured his victory on the fourth hole. The win moved him to 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest in his career. On 16 October 2016, Matsuyama captured the
Japan Open by three strokes over
Yuta Ikeda and
Lee Kyoung-hoon. The win was Matsuyama's first title at his country's national open and his seventh victory in Japan. The title gives Matsuyama victories in four of the
Japan Golf Tour's five ¥200,000,000 events. On 30 October 2016, Matsuyama followed up his Japan Open triumph by winning the
WGC-HSBC Champions, colloquially known as "Asia's Major", in
Shanghai. Matsuyama became the first Asian golfer to claim a
World Golf Championship since the series was inaugurated in 1999. With the victory, Matsuyama rose to number 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest position and the second highest ever by a Japanese player after
Masashi Ozaki, who achieved a ranking of fifth. He later moved up to fifth in the world after the
Farmers Insurance Open. On 13 November 2016, Matsuyama won his second
Taiheiyo Masters, following his victory as a 19-year-old amateur in 2011. He romped to a seven-shot win over South Korea's
Song Young-han. In Matsuyama's return to the
Waste Management Phoenix Open, he again entered a playoff on Sunday to defend his title, this time against
Webb Simpson. On the fourth playoff hole, Matsuyama made birdie to win the tournament for the second time in as many years. After finishing second in the
2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills, while the top three players in the world at the time (
Dustin Johnson,
Rory McIlroy and
Jason Day) failed to make the cut, Matsuyama reached 2nd in the
Official World Golf Ranking, his highest ever, and the highest ever for a male Japanese golfer. The 2017 season has been a breakthrough year with Matsuyama winning three Tour titles, including his first
World Golf Championship, and three second-place finishes in his first 15 events, as well as winning $5,945,990, putting him second on the money list behind
Dustin Johnson, before the month of July. He then won the
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August, shooting a course record-tying 61 in the final round to win by five strokes. At the 2017 PGA Championship, Matsuyama had opening rounds of 70–64 to share the 36-hold lead, with
Kevin Kisner at Quail Hollow. In December 2019, Matsuyama played on the International team at the
2019 Presidents Cup at
Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won, 16–14. Matsuyama went 2–1–1 and halved his Sunday singles match against
Tony Finau. On 11 April 2021, Matsuyama won the
Masters Tournament, becoming both the first Japanese player and the first Asian-born player to win the tournament. He finished with an overall score of 278 (−10), one shot ahead of runner-up
Will Zalatoris. At the conclusion of the tournament, Matsuyama's caddie, Shota Hayafuji, bowed to the 18th fairway of the
Augusta course as a gesture of Japanese respect. In August, Matsuyama finished in a tie for 3rd place at the
Olympic Games. He lost in a 7-man playoff for the bronze medal. The following week Matsuyama was tied for the lead after 72 holes at the
WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He was beaten in the playoff when
Abraham Ancer birdied the second extra hole. In October 2021, Matsuyama won the
Zozo Championship at
Narashino Country Club. The Zozo Championship is the only PGA Tour event held in Japan. Matsuyama won by five strokes over
Cameron Tringale and
Brendan Steele. On 16 January 2022, Matsuyama won the
Sony Open in Hawaii; having made up a five-shot deficit on the back nine to get into a
playoff with
Russell Henley, he made an
eagle on the first extra hole to claim the victory. It was his eighth win on the PGA Tour, tying
K. J. Choi for most tour victories by an Asian-born player. On 2 June 2022, at the
Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, Matsuyama was disqualified midway through his first round due to having a white paint-like substance on the face of his 3-wood. The substance was said to have been applied by his equipment technician to help with alignment. Matsuyama qualified for the International team at the
2022 Presidents Cup; he won one, tied one and lost three of the five matches he played. On 18 February 2024, Matsuyama won the
Genesis Invitational. He entered the final round six strokes off the lead, but overcame the deficit, shooting a 62 to win his first PGA Tour event since the 2022
Sony Open in Hawaii. Matsuyama posted the second-lowest round in course history. It was also the lowest in the fourth round of a tournament at
Riviera Country Club. In August, Matsuyama won the bronze medal at the
2024 Olympic Games. He finished two shots behind
Scottie Scheffler, the gold medalist, and one shot behind
Tommy Fleetwood, the silver medalist, with a score of 267 (−17). Later that month, he won the
FedEx St. Jude Championship by two strokes with a score of 263 (−17). Matsuyama nearly lost control of a five shot lead in the final round after errant shots on the back nine, but birdies on the last two holes brought him his 10th victory on the PGA Tour. In January, Matsuyama won
The Sentry, three strokes ahead of
Collin Morikawa. His winning score of 35-under 257 broke the PGA Tour scoring record in relation to par, previously set by
Cameron Smith in 2022 at 34-under total, also at The Sentry. == Personal life ==