When there is a will, there is a way and there was certainly one for Hideki Matsuyama, despite the recent hurdles standing in his way. After winning the bronze medal in the French capital, the Japanese pro was headed back to the United States for the FedExCup playoffs. However, before that, he had a day layover in downtown London and it was there that the unfortunate incident occurred.

Matsuyama was having dinner with his coach, Mikihito Kuromiya, and caddie, Shota Hayato when the latter realized that their bags were missing. After shooting 5 under 65 in the opening round of the St. Jude Championship, the 32-year-old talked about the disheartening incident at the press conference. He said, “It was an unfortunate situation. Luckily I only lost my wallet, but Shota, my caddie, and the coach, lost their passports, and we’re trying hard now to get their visas back in line, and hopefully, we can join us as a team as soon as possible.”

While Matsuyama losing his wallet was unpleasant, he was lucky that he left his passport in the hotel, which allowed him to return to the States for the playoffs. On the other hand, his coach and caddie were not so lucky and are in Japan, to get a hold of expedited travel documents from the embassy in a bid to make it back for the TOUR Championship in East Lake.

For the first event of the FedExCup playoffs, the St. Jude Championship, Matsuyama has Ryo Hisatsune’s former looper, Taiga Tabuchi, on the bag. The two have surely clicked. With Tabuchi as his looper, the Japanese pro was able to finish only one stroke behind the leader, Chris Kirk, after the opening round. However, as the TOUR Championship inches closer, Matsuyama will have a huge hurdle to cross.

Hideki Matsuyama shares more about his coach’s return

Through the stressful situation, Hideki Matsuyama had to prepare for the playoffs while his two key team members were missing. Who helped him win a medal at the Olympics a few weeks ago and now, given the circumstances, could not be by the PGA Tour pro’s side at the St. Jude Championship. But through it all, Matsuyama expressed that they were pushing hard to make sure that his coach and caddie made it to the USA.

Matsuyama added, “Shota will make it, I think, but my coach probably won’t.” Without his coach’s assistance, the TOUR Championship might become a great hassle for the PGA Tour pro. However, he has found a solution to it as well. They could continue the teaching sessions despite sitting miles apart. The 32-year-old said, “I talk to my coach every night on the phone,” which has been helping him plenty. 

Even though the incident baffled him, Matsuyama has left it behind for good. He couldn’t let it bother him at the TPC Southwind. He said that he had “forgotten it completely” and it was not an issue. Nonetheless, Matsuyama would hope that, with caddie, his coach might as well get the documents for the states. But if he doesn’t, the 32-year-old will still do the best with whatever he has.