Matsuyama stamps Masters mark with fifth-place finish

By Andrew Both AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Hideki Matsuyama fell just short of becoming the best Japanese finisher ever at the Masters when he placed fifth on Sunday. Buoyed by an eagle at the par-five 13th, Matsuyama matched the best final-round score of 66 to surge up the leaderboard and become, like winner Jordan Spieth, a exciting young talent who made his mark at Augusta National. It speaks volumes of the 23-year-old’s ambition that he was not overly pleased with his performance after finishing at 11-under 277, seven strokes behind Spieth. Nothing less than a green jacket would be satisfactory. “In the future I’m looking to win here,” he told reporters. “I’m very happy I shot 66 but I came here to win and that’s the bitter part. “I just didn’t make enough putts. My goal today was to shoot in the 60s and I did that but I’m still a long way behind Jordan.” World number 17 Matsuyama, the reigning Memorial tournament champion, has surpassed Ryo Ishikawa as the hope of Japanese golf. Ishikawa carried the expectations of a nation when he started dominating the Japan Tour as a teenager, but his success has never translated onto the PGA Tour. Japan is the only Asian nation with a significant golf history, but it has never produced a major champion. Isao Aoki came closing, finishing second to Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 U.S. Open, while the nation has logged two fourth-placings at the Masters, Toshi Izawa in 2001 and Shingo Katayama in 2009. But Matsuyama has already won in the U.S., something that Izawa and Katayama never did, and has the game to win at the highest level. "He's a great player," Dustin Johnson said after playing with Matsuyama on Sunday. "He drove it very straight." Spieth deservedly stole the spotlight at the Masters, but Matsuyama’s future is similarly bright. (Editing by Gene Cherry)