Hideki Matsuyama emerged victorious at the 2021 Masters, shooting a final round 73 (+1 over par) to beat the Masters rookie Will Zalatoris by 1 shot with a tournament total of -10 under par. This win was historic as Hideki becomes the first Japanese male golfer to win a major golf tournament.

Relive the epic moments of this year's tournament and find out what gear was in Matsuyama's bag below.

Thursday Round 1 Update

Well, Augusta was playing true to the pre-tournament rumors – it was certainly fast and definitely dry! The big names that everyone thought were going to take this tournament by storm struggled on day 1 – well, other than Justin Rose, that is. Rose apparently did not get the memo that the tournament was hard, as he cruised to a 4 stroke lead at -7 under par, shooting 65 today, including an incredible stretch where he was -8 under par in 9 holes between hole 9 and hole 16.

Jordan Spieth – Tied 8th, -1 Under Par

• Played really well throughout the round. If it weren’t for a triple bogey 7 on hole 9, he would have been up there near the top of the leaderboard today.

Jon Rahm – Tied 13th, Even Par

• Couldn’t tell that he hadn’t touched a golf club in two weeks before arriving at Augusta on Wednesday after the birth of his child over the weekend. Hit the ball great, missed a few putts, but overall, a strong first day.

Dustin Johnson – Tied 30th, +2 Over Par

• Was fighting his driver all day. Had some big misses to the right that put him in a poor position going into the green. Knowing how good he is and how he does not get too bogged down in the mental side of the game, I suspect a big bounce back from DJ tomorrow.

Rory McIlroy – Tied 60th, +4 Over Par

• Started out with a solid round but ran into some trouble on holes 5-11 where he was +4 in that stretch. His swing changes with new golf coach Pete Cowen have not really taken full effect yet. He was so out of sorts with his swing today that he hit his father Gerry on the 7th hole with an errant approach shot into the green (sorry pops).

Webb Simpson – Tied 4th, -2 Under Par

• Was tied for the lead after making back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13. Anytime you make it through Amen Corner (the nickname for 11, 12, and 13) under par you are doing well. An unfortunate double bogey on the par 3, 16th hole put him at -2 under for the day. But watch out for the former U.S. Open Champion this weekend. He could be a sneaky good pick.

Shot of the Day – Tommy Fleetwood

Apparently, Tommy Fleetwood loves making aces during golf tournaments – because he has done it in back-to-back tournaments now. His shot on 16 produced the first big crowd noise of the week (so far):

WGC-Dell Match Play, March 24th – Round of 16

2021 Masters Tournament – Round 1

For tomorrow – Happy Friday in advance and look out for our post-round update at this time tomorrow!

Friday Round 2 Update

Well, I think it is safe to say that there are a lot of pools and picks out there that were blown up after today’s round (yes, mine included). Big names struggled on Day 2 and there were some top-ranked players that missed the cut and won’t be playing the weekend at Augusta this year. This was surprising because the greens were playing softer today than on Thursday’s round, and there were some decent scores out there today.

Bernd Wiesberger and Tony Finau both shot rounds of -6 under 66 today. There was also three rounds of 67 (-5 under par) and five rounds of 68 (-4 under par). Included in that mix was Bryson DeChamebau, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, and first-time Master’s competitor Will Zalatoris (who apparently caddied for Happy Gilmore in another life) – that’s a joke by the way – we love you Will.

Some notes on the big names:

Dustin Johnson (74 - 75 Missed Cut)

• The defending champion won't be defending this time around after finishing with 3 bogeys on his final 4 holes today.

Brooks Koepka (74 - 75 Missed Cut)

• Playing on one leg just three weeks after having knee surgery. He just couldn’t get things going this week. Could see that he visibly had a hard time walking the course and his putter wasn’t living up to its normal major championship pedigree. Here’s to a speedy recovery Brooks - see you in South Carolina next month for the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

Jordan Spieth (71 - 68 Tied 4th at -5 total)

• Played mostly mistake-free today, carding 5 birdies and only 1 bogey. The 2015 Masters champ finds himself only 2 shots behind the leader going into the weekend.

Justin Thomas (73 - 67 Tied 6th at -4 total)

• 2nd lowest round of the day, which is pretty amazing considering he 3-putted 18 for a bogey. He said he is feeling comfortable and liking his position going into the weekend. He just won at the Players in March - so obviously his game is in top form going into the weekend.

Justin Rose (65 - 72 Solo 1st at -7 total)

• Our leader held it together nicely today. He made 4 bogeys and 1 birdie during his first 7 holes and briefly lost his lead, but stormed back on the back nine with 3 birdies to finish at even par for the day. Coupled with his 65 from Thursday, today’s round of even par is good enough for a 1-shot lead over Will Zalatoris.

Shot of the Day – Si Woo Kim

Not really the typical shot of the day – but had to give Si Woo Kim some props for posting -3 under par 69 after breaking his putter on the 14th green.

He had to finish the last 4 holes of today's round by putting with his 3-wood. Surprisingly, he made 4 pars over that stretch!

Tomorrow is moving day and the forecast is calling for intermittent rain showers throughout the day. That should make the greens a bit softer than they have been – should be some really good golf tomorrow as players try to catch Justin Rose!

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s update - enjoy your Saturday y’all!

Saturday Round 3 Update

Well, Saturday (often called "moving day" at the Masters) lived up to its name. After a brief storm delay, because of lighting in the area, the course softened up dramatically and the players were able to attack it much more so than the last two and half days. Before the storm delay, the field was +28 over par cumulatively this morning. Then, after play resumed around 5:15 EST, the field played the course at -9 under par cumulatively for the rest of the day. Pretty dramatic change from the rains.

10 years to the day after Hideki Matsuyama took home low amateur honors at the 2011 Masters Tournament – Hideki took full advantage of the softer conditions and shot the first bogey-free round of any player this week, a -7 under par 65. Putting him at -11 for the tournament and 4 shots clear of Xander Schauffele, Marc Leishman, Justin Rose, and Will Zalatoris, and 5 shots clear of Jordan Spieth who sits at -6 under par for the week.

Why does that statistic matter?

No one has come from more than 4 shots back of the leader on Sunday to win the Masters. Surprisingly, the winner has come out of the final pairing on Sunday in 26 of the last 31 tournaments (the final pairing this year is Matsuyama and Schauffele).

Shot & Slip of the Day

Corey Conners followed Tommy Fleetwood’s lead and made a hole in one on the par 3, 6th hole today. Only the 6th ever record on this hole during the tournament and the first since 2013.

Billy Horschel and Phil Mickelson had some laughs on the par 5, 13th hole as Horschel slipped walking down the bank into Rae’s Creek to hit his ball out of the water. He even asked Phil to check out his booty after the slip.

One more day to go folks – history will be made! Can Jordan win his 2nd green jacket or maybe Xander comes from behind to claim his first major? Stay tuned to find out!

Sunday Round 4 Update

CBS posted clips of the Japanese broadcasting partner announcing the event in real-time during the final round. You could really sense how pumped up the entire nation of Japan was following his historic finish!

Other notable players finished near the top of the leaderboard in this event as well. Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele both finished at -7 under par in a tie for 3rd. Jon Rahm had the round of the day on Sunday shooting -6 under par 66 to finish at -6 under par for the tournament in a tie for 5th with Marc Leishman. Thursday and Friday’s leader Justin Rose had a rough weekend but still finished at -5 for the tournament in solo 7th. Patrick Reed, Corey Conners, Cameron Smith, and Tony Finau rounded out the top ten, finishing the week at -4 under par and -3 under par, respectively.

Hideki Matsuyama – What’s in the Masters Champion Bag?

Hideki is a flagship golfer for Srixon and played a full bag of Srixon and Cleveland products, as well as a couple of TaylorMade fairway woods on his way to his first Green Jacket.

Driver: Srixon Zx5 Driver – 9.5 Degrees, Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX Shaft

3-Fairway Wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Titanium – 15 Degrees, Graphite Design Tour AD TP 9 TX

Utility Iron: TaylorMade SIM UDI – 3 Hybrid, True Temper Elevate Tour X100

Iron Set: Srixon Z Forged Irons – 4 iron through pitching wedge, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Wedges: Cleveland RTX4 Forged Wedges – 52 Degree Gap Wedge, 56 Degree Sand Wedge, 60 Degree Lob Wedge, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (S400 in the 52 Degree Gap Wedge)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Special Select Newport 2

Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV

So that’s a wrap on the first major of the year. If you want to look like Hideki and have questions on any of the above gear – reach out to your Golf expert here on Curated for free advice and recommendations. Next up is the PGA Championship May 20th - May 23rd at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Last time the PGA Championship was held there, Rory McIlroy stomped the field and won by 8 shots in route to his second major. Stay tuned for more major Curated coverage in the future!