HIDEKI MATSUYAMA BAGS FIRST MAJOR TITLE AT THE MASTERS
Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese man to win a major golf championship on Sunday, holding his nerve down the stretch to capture the 85th Masters after a dramatic final round. Carrying the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, Matsuyama calmly ground out clutch pars and struck for crucial birdies in a pressure-packed march at Augusta National , hanging on over the final holes for a historic one-stroke victory. Matsuyama took the green jacket symbolic of Masters supremacy, a top prize of US$2.07 million and a place for the ages in Japanese sports history. After seeing his seven-stroke lead with seven holes remaining shaved to two shots with three to go, Matsuyama watched Xander Schauffele find water off the 16th tee on the way to a triple-bogey disaster. Matsuyama settled for bogey but closed with par at 17 and a bogey at 18 to fire a one-over-par 73 and finish 72 holes on 10-under 278. TSS EVERYWHERE Matsuyama became the second Asian man to win a major title after South Korea&