Captain Nick Price's 2013 prediction helped spur Hideki Matsuyama to Masters dream

DUBLIN, Ohio – International captain Nick Price could see the raw disappointment in the eyes of his 21-year-old rookie after Hideki Matsuyama lost his Singles match at the 2013 Presidents Cup to Hunter Mahan.

The Japanese prodigy felt like he’d let the International team down but Price wanted to make sure the youngster knew he certainly didn’t feel that way and nor did any of his teammates as they passed at the clubhouse of Muirfield Village.

Price knew Matsuyama would be a staple of the International team in the years to come and sensed it was a time to send a message. He turned to Bob Turner – Matsuyama’s confidant and interpreter – and was straight to the point.

“His game is so good… he’s going to win majors,” Price said before thanking Matsuyama with a hearty handshake for his efforts.

It was a line that would live with Matsuyama from that point on and ultimately come true almost eight years later at the Masters.

“At that time it was only a dream to think of winning a major championship but what Captain Nick said really gave me motivation to try to live up to those expectations,” Matsuyama said this week ahead of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at the same venue he received the praise.

“The 2013 Presidents Cup is a week I’ll always remember. I was so grateful for Captain Nick and Adam Scott as it was those two who really took me under their wings and helped me a lot in my first time on the team.

“They were great because I had no clue what to do, or how to do it, and they really paid special attention to me and helped build my confidence. It was unfortunate the team didn’t play a little better but the week will always hold great memories for me and it was important for my confidence going forward.”

History shows that the following June, Matsuyama would return to Muirfield Village and win the Memorial Tournament, the first of his now six PGA TOUR wins. He was the youngest champion in tournament history at 22 and the first winner from Japan.

It was an incredible rise as when Price was named the 2013 captain in May of 2012, Matsuyama was ranked outside the top 200 players in the world but by the time the team was picked in September of 2013 he’d moved inside the top 30 despite having just six TOUR starts as a pro.

But it was a rise Price says was always going to come. The Hall of Famer returned to Muirfield Village this week as the tournament honoree. He remembers the infamous moment well.

“I could sense Hideki was starting to get a little down so I was trying to think what’s the best thing I can do or say to pick him up and the first thing that came to mind was I just knew he was going to win a major,” Price said.

“If I said that to him I thought it might just break him out of any funk he was in so I said to his interpreter Bob – you tell him he’s one of the best young talents I’ve ever seen and tell him I know he is going to win a major.

“And hey, eight years later the prophecy came true but it wasn’t really going out on a limb, we all knew it was going to happen.”

Price said he’d formed that opinion prior to the week at Muirfield Village where Matsuyama would go 1-3-1 as a rookie during the US 18.5-15.5 win. He could sense it in tournaments leading up to the event where he walked a handful of practice rounds with prospective team members.

“I had obviously stopped playing on the regular TOUR before Hideki surfaced but I remember watching him play when he first popped up as a youngster. It was immediately noticeable that he had a beautiful golf swing and his short game looked amazing,” Price remembered.

“When they announced I was going to be captain I obviously started to watch him play in person and I was so impressed with his demeanor. He seemed unflappable. He’s a great young man and I was really happy to have him on all three of my Presidents Cup teams.”

And he was cheering Matsuyama home last April, on the edge of his seat watching the finish of the Masters, knowing how big the moment would be in a historical sense.

“It was probably the greatest thing to happen in golf for some time,” Price says. “The Japanese have long revered the Masters and to have their first male major champion win there is something very special indeed and great for the International exposure of the game.”

Price isn’t done with predictions when it comes to Matsuyama.

“I don’t think the Masters is his last major win either,” he says. “Once the dust settles he will be back on the horse and he’s going to be looking for the second one. It won’t surprise me if he wins three, four or even more of them.”

Let’s hope Matsuyama also takes this prediction to heart.