Golf superstar Hideki Matsuyama reportedly had his passport stolen at a London airport just days after winning a medal at the Paris Olympics.
The Japanese PGA Tour star made a stopover in the UK on his flight from France to the US for the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tennessee.
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Matsuyama finished third in the men’s stroke play at the Olympic Games, finishing behind Scottie Scheffler of the USA and Tommy Fleetwood of Team Great Britain.
But his trip to the States suffered a setback at an unnamed London airport.
Golf Digest Japan reports that Matsuyama’s passport was stolen and that the travel documents of caddy Shota Hayato and coach Mikihito Kuromiya were also stolen.
The trio was forced to abandon their flight to Memphis and instead return to Japan to collect new passports.
Matsuyama has now flown to America for the last event of the PGA Tour.
However, his team has not joined him, which means that Matsuyama will have to use a substitute caddy and will have to manage without a coach altogether.
And the 32-year-old, who won the 2021 Masters, now hopes to overcome his robbery shock with a win in Memphis.
He told Golf Digest Japan: “There is a chance that they (my team) can do it, but we have to assume that it is close to zero.”
“I will play golf like I was before I had a coach.
“I feel like I bear all the responsibility.
“I’m looking forward to this for the first time in a long time.
“I want to pass on (to my new caddy) what I have learned on the course.”
Matsuyama has already won one PGA Tour event this year, storming to victory at the Genesis Invitational in February.
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