Hideki Matsuyama made history at the 2021 Masters, becoming the first Japanese man to win a major golf tournament at Augusta National in Georgia.
Upon receiving the coveted green jacket from the 2020 champion, Dustin Johnson, Matsuyama offered a rare few words about his private life, namely wife Mei and daughter Kanna.
“I was thinking about them all the way around today,” Matsuyama said through his interpreter.
Matsuyama finished the April 2021 tournament with a total of 10-under par, defeating American runner-up Will Zalatoris. He later celebrated on the green with caddie Shota Hayafuji.
“I’m really happy that I played well for them,” Matsuyama continued of his family.
In August 2017, Matsuyama shocked the media after revealing he and wife Mei had secretly wed in January of that year. The couple had also welcomed their baby girl in July.
While discussing his surprising revelation, Matsuyama said no one had expressed interest in his personal affairs in the past.
“No one really asked me if I was married, so I didn’t have to answer that question. But I felt that after the PGA would be a good time, because our baby is born and I thought that would be a good time to let everyone know,” Matsuyama said at the time, according to Golf.com.
Matsuyama’s PGA Tour profile lists wife Mei and daughter Kanna in addition to his career earnings total of $33.2 million.
Further adding to the mystery of Matsuyama’s wife, the golf star’s caddie at the 2016 Hero World Challenge was a woman named Mei Inui — although it’s unclear if the caddie is the same person as his wife or if they just share the same name.
The athlete praised his caddie at the time for keeping him calm under pressure.
“When things get tough, I sometimes put my head down and become quiet,” Matsuyama said, according to USA Today. “But Mei was always positive throughout, even the back nine, and was giving me good vibes, which really helped coming in.”