Hideki Matsuyama’s caddie goes viral, Jim Nantz lays down the law | Rogers Report
Hideki Matsuyama and his caddie, Shota Hayafuji.
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PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Hello, friends, and happy Sunday from the Genesis Invitational! I’m officially an obnoxious Los Angeles gal because I went to Erewhon (the extremely fancy and overpriced grocery store) this morning and bought a smoothie and breakfast burrito. Today is my final day on the road after two weeks of following the PGA Tour. It’s been a great few weeks on the road, but I’m definitely ready to head back to Boston. But enough about me — let’s get to the golf.
Word has it that Tiger Woods is already back home and resting up in Florida, but it’s his tournament so there are still a handful of nods to the 15-time major champion on site. For instance, the espresso machine in the media center is decked out in its very own Sunday Red.
Tiger’s bodyguard is also on site as a fan. Not a bad deal for a guy whose boss went home sick!
Also, this is my third year at Riviera and the third time I’ve seen this house on the fourth hole throw a pool party for the final round.
If you are the proud owner of the above humble abode, please do not hesitate to invite me to your 2025 final-round party at Riviera. I’ll do my very best to swing by.
A quiet warm-up
I headed to the range as soon as I arrived at Riviera on Sunday morning. I know that Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are very close pals, so I was curious to see what their warm-ups would look like before facing off against each other in the final group.
Here’s your friendly reminder that Schauffele was Cantlay’s best man at his wedding back in the fall. Cantlay got hitched the day after the Ryder Cup in Rome! Props to him for the back-to-back massive events. I’d simply be too tired to get married on a day like that.
All that friendship didn’t matter on the range ahead of the final round, though. Cantlay was on the far left of the range, and Schauffele arrived about 20 minutes after him. Schauffele headed to a spot about four bays away from his pal and began warming up. Schauffele’s dad, Stefan, and Cantlay’s coach, Jamie Mulligan, exchanged a few friendly words on the range, but that was it. These guys were dialed in! This reminds me of one time where I played against my cousin, Mary, in our little league championship as kids, except that we weren’t competing for millions of dollars. Also, we joked around the entire time.
Eventually, both guys made their way to the practice green to hit a few more putts before teeing off. Again, they didn’t acknowledge each other. They were putting at the same hole, though. Such tension!
You know whom Schauffele did acknowledge before his round, though? This little kid, who was so psyched to get a nod from the seven-time PGA Tour champion.
Luke List
As Luke List climbed up the leaderboard on Sunday, I decided to do some research on him (read: look into his social media presence). He presented me with my greatest Rogers Report challenge yet. List has no social media accounts, and his wife, Chloe, is private. This might be discouraging to lesser women, but definitely not me. I still managed to gather some information on his better half, Chloe Kirby List. She was an actress who starred in Momentum (2015), Safari (2013), The Conspirator (2010), and to my great surprise, The Last Song (2010). She played a volleyball player in the film starring Miley Cyrus, and as a massive Hannah Montana fan, I now feel a personal connection to Mrs. List.
If you’ve never seen The Last Song, I highly encourage you to watch it. I always turn it off after the turtle scene, though, because it starts to get sad after that.
Hideki’s legendary caddie
Hideki Matsuyama’s caddie, Shota Hayafuji, went viral at the 2021 Masters for bowing on the 18th green after his boss won a green jacket. It was a sign of the respect he has for Augusta National, and ever since that moment I’ve been a big fan of his.
Today, my appreciation for Hayafuji grew even more, but for a very different reason. While Matsuyama headed to the scoring tent after his round, Hayafuji sat by the practice green, with some sort of vape (I’ll have to confirm with my younger cousins exactly what he’s smoking there) in hand, taking in all the action on 18.
What a lovely, peaceful moment for Hayafuji! His guy just won four million bucks, which means he’s got a nice pay day coming his way as well. This is kind of like that scene in the Lion King, except if Mufasa was holding up a vape instead of Simba.
That exact spot Hayafuji is in in the above photo is my favorite spot to watch golf on the planet. You can see guys finish up their round on No. 18 as well as tee off on No. 10. Not to mention how scenic the view is! Anyway, back to Hayafuji. What a cool guy. Matsuyama said he had a Sunday night dinner reservation, and I hope Hayafuji gets the best food on the menu.
Jim Nantz lays down the law
A handful of armchair rules officials were all over Twitter on Sunday afternoon, saying that Matsuyama’s ball moved on the 17th hole, and Jim Nantz was quick to shut down the keyboard warriors.
He ends the rules clarification with: “Go find somebody else to pick on” — which coming from anybody else, would sound very stern, but coming from Nantz, it sounds like poetry.
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