Masters Results 2021: Final Leaderboard and Reaction to Hideki Matsuyama's Win | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Daniel Johnston
Published Mar 23, 2026
Hideki Matsuyama made history as the first Japanese man to win a golf major Sunday.
CBS Sports @CBSSports“Matsuyama is Japan’s first Masters Champion!”
The 29-year-old became the fourth player since 2016 to capture his first major crown at the Masters. Danny Willett, Patrick Reed and Sergio Garcia were the others.
Matsuyama did not play a perfect round Sunday, but he did enough to keep the lead he built during Saturday's bogey-free round.
The freshly minted Masters champion finished one shot ahead of Will Zalatoris, who was playing in his first Masters, at 10 under. Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth ended up in a tie for third three shots back. The final leaderboard can be found on the official Masters website.
Matsuyama admitted he was nervous entering the round and throughout his final 18 holes at Augusta National Golf Club, per CBSSports.com's Kyle Porter.
"My plan this morning was to wake up about 9:30," Matsuyama said. "But needless to say, I arose much earlier than that and couldn't go back to sleep. So I came to the golf course early. Had a really good warm-up. I felt really good going to the first tee until I stood on the first tee, and then it hit me that I'm in the last group of the Masters Tournament, and I'm the leader by four strokes. And then I was really nervous."
The nerves did not show on the outside, even when Schauffele got to within two strokes with three holes to go. The American proceeded to knock his tee shot into the water to end the final charge at Matsuyama's lead.
Schauffele heaped praise on Matsuyama after the round, as he called him a "robot" because of the way he handled the emotions of being the Sunday leader at Augusta National Golf Club, per GolfChannel.com's Ryan Lavner.
"Man, he was something else," Schauffele said. "He played like a winner needs to play. He was like a robot."
Spieth also chimed in with how impressed he was with Matsuyama's poise as he dealt with the pressure of representing his country and region, per the AP's Doug Ferguson.
"He's got a lot of pressure on himself," Spieth said. "I remember the feeling on a four-shot lead, and he's got Japan on his back and maybe Asia on his back. I can't imagine how that was trying to sleep on that, even with somebody who's had so much success."
Matsuyama built enough of a cushion to deal with three bogeys on the final four holes. Once Schauffele put his tee shot in the water at 16, Matsuyama had a clear path to victory and a par at No. 17 helped him avoid any trouble on the 72nd hole.
With the win, Matsuyama joined elite company as a player to be low amateur at the Masters and to win a green jacket. Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are among the golfers in that exclusive category, per the PGA Tour's official Twitter account.
PGA TOUR @PGATOURCary Middlecoff Jack Nicklaus Ben Crenshaw Phil Mickelson Tiger Woods Sergio Garcia Hideki Matsuyama joins an elite list of players to win low amateur and also win #theMasters
Nicklaus, Woods and Bubba Watson were among the former Masters champions who tweeted messages praising the latest green jacket winner.
Jack Nicklaus @jacknicklausI want to send my heartfelt congratulations to Hideki Matsuyama for his Masters Tournament victory, and for being the first Japanese male golfer to win a major championship. I’m not only very happy and pleased for Hideki, but also the whole golfing world of Japan.
Tiger Woods @TigerWoodsMaking Japan proud Hideki. Congratulations on such a huge accomplishment for you and your country. This historical @TheMasters win will impact the entire golf world.
bubba watson @bubbawatsonCongrats to @TheMasters champ, Hideki Matsuyama!! What an achievement for you and for Japan 🇯🇵... you’re inspiring young people everywhere to play golf. Amazing to see! #themasters #welcometotheclub 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Matsuyama will have some time to celebrate the win, but it will not be long before he competes in another major. The PGA Championship is scheduled for May 20-23 at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
