Back in 2017, Hideki Matsuyama and his wife Mei welcomed their first child into the world. That’s nice and all, except for one thing, no one knew the tour pro was married at the time. Eventually, he stated that, “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.”
Well, eight years later, Matsuyama is now a Masters champ, an 11-time tour winner and the most successful Japanese golfer of all time. His wife, and daughter Kanna, are notoriously private, which is why it was quite a shock to see Mei loop for her husband at this week’s Rocket Classic.
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Matsuyama’s usual caddie, Shota Hayafuji, appears to be off his feet this week, but we doubt that few know the golf great more than his significant other. The duo started with a bogey on the opening hole, but there are (hopefully) 71 more holes to lower that score.
Back in 2016, a “mystery woman” named Mei Inui caddied for Matsuyama at the World Hero Challenge, but the golfer never stated outright that the two Meis are the same woman. “When things get tough, I sometimes put my head down and become quiet,” Matsuyama said at the Tiger Woods-hosted event. “But Mei was always positive throughout, even the back nine, and was giving me good vibes, which really helped coming in.” He ultimately went on to win that event by two strokes over Henrik Stenson, so that’s a fortuitous sign heading into Detroit Golf Club.
Gregory Shamus
Gregory Shamus
Gregory Shamus
Not much else is known about Mei, even after the hush-hush wedding. One of the few times, Matsuyama mentioned his family back home was after his historic 2021 Masters victory: “I was thinking about them all the way around today. I’m really happy that I played well for them.”
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
