AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — A brief look at the final round Sunday of the Masters:
WINNER: Hideki Matsuyama became the first male golfer from Japan to win a major championship, closing with a 73 for a 10-under 278 total.
RUNNER-UP: Masters rookie Will Zalatoris stamped himself as a future star by finishing one stroke behind Matsuyama.
ANOTHER CLOSE CALL: Xander Schauffele had another heartbreaking finish in a major championship, his hopes ruined by a triple-bogey at No. 16 after he had made four straight birdies to close within two shots of Matsuyama.
TOUGH FINISH: Bryson DeChambeau struggled again at Augusta after coming into the tournament as one of the favorites. He closed with a 75 and finished 15 shots behind the winner.
ASIAN CHAMPIONS: Matsuyama became the second man from an Asian country to win a major. Y.E. Yang of South Korea won the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine over Tiger Woods.
SHOT OF THE DAY: Schauffele’s 8-iron off the tee at the par-3 16th came up short, rolling off the bank and into the pond to clear the way for Matsuyama’s victory.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Zalatoris, who does even have a full PGA Tour card, turned in the best performance by a Masters first-timer since Jordan Spieth was runner-up in 2014 to Bubba Watson.
JAPANESE SWEEP: Matsuyama was Japan’s second winner at Augusta National in eight days, following Tsubasa Kajitani’s playoff victory in the Women’s Amateur.
KEY STATISTIC: Matsuyama was the first Masters winner to play a final round over par since Trevor Immelman shot 75 in 2008.
NOTEWORTHY: The Masters is now the only major that has champions from every continent where golf is played.
QUOTEWORTHY: “Hopefully, I’ll be a pioneer and many other Japanese will follow.” — Matsuyama.
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