Hideki Matsuyama was completely blindsided after getting robbed in London earlier this week.
The Japanese golfer said Thursday he was having dinner with his caddie Shota Hayato and coach Mikihito Kuromiya after the 2024 Olympics when the thief made off with their belongings.
But it wasn’t until later that they realized something was amiss.
“We didn’t even know it happened,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter, according to PGATour.com. “We were just having a friendly dinner, and Shota was the first one – Hey, where is my bag? Of course it was frustrating, but we really didn’t know it happened. It was just kind of all of a sudden … [the robber] just took it and ran.”
Matsuyama, 32, was on his way back from the Paris Olympics, where he won the bronze medal at Le Golf National on Aug. 4, ahead of this weekend’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“It was an unfortunate situation,” Matsuyama said. “Luckily, I only lost my wallet, but Shota, my caddie, and my coach, lost their passports, and we’re trying hard now to get their visas back in line, and hopefully they can join us as a team as soon as possible.”
Hayato and Kuromiya were forced to return to Japan, where they are having their passports and visas re-issued, while Matsuyama continued back to the U.S.
Golf.com reported that Matsuyama said Hayato has a chance to make it back to the U.S. by the Tour Championship, which takes place from Aug. 28-Sept. 1, although Kuromiya likely won’t.
Matsuyama is coming off one of his best seasons in recent years, winning the Genesis Invitational in February for his first tour victory in two years and finishing the regular season ranked eighth in the standings.
He finished behind Team USA’s Scottie Scheffler, who won gold, and Tommy Fleetwood of Team Great Britain, who secured silver, in the men’s individual stroke play event in Paris.
