Hideki Matsuyama caddie: Who carries the sticks for the Japanese golfing star?

Former World No.2 Hideki Matsuyama spent his first few years on the PGA Tour switching up his caddie often, but ever since 2019 Shota Hayafuji has been a mainstay.

Hayafuji shot to acclaim around the world after the 2021 Masters when he bowed to the course on the 18th hole, producing one of the most iconic moments at Augusta in recent years.

The Japanese caddie recently competed in The Players Championship’s traditional caddie competition where loopers swap the bag for a club on TPC Sawgrass’ famous 17th island-green.

Despite the 12 practice swings, Hayafuji unfortunately pulled his shot left and found the water - unable to copy the heroics of Collin Morikawa’s caddie, Jonathan ‘JJ’ Jakovac.

Matsuyama’s caddie journey

Matsuyama’s first caddie was Taisho Okabe and they worked together at the 2011 Masters where he finished T27 and was the low amateur.

Then the following year he arrived at Augusta with a caddie named Katsuya Kobayashi.

In 2013, Matsuyama began working with Daisuke Shindo and the pair found a lot of success together, winning five times on the PGA Tour.

The pair parted ways before the 2019 Tour started and Matsuyama began working with Hayafuji at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Who is Hideki Matsuyama's caddie Shota Hayafuji?

Hayafuji turned pro in 2016 and played on the China Tour, however, he stopped playing in 2018.

He revealed that before he became his caddie, Matsuyama was his favourite player on the PGA Tour and he had dreams of following him over to the US-based circuit.

It is unclear how the two met but their partnership has been very successful, notably becoming the first Japanese player to win a major championship, when he won the Masters in 2021.

Matsuyama has won 11 times on the PGA Tour, but Hayafuji wasn’t present for his victory at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in August 2024.

That was because just days before the opening tournament - Matsuyama, Hayafuji, and coach Mikihito Kuromiya were robbed in a London restaurant.

They were on their way back from the Paris Olympics, where Matsuyama earned the bronze medal when they stopped for the night in London.

The 2021 Masters champion had his wallet taken while his coach and caddie saw their passports stolen.

The latter pair were then forced to return to Japan to source new identification.

“It was an unfortunate situation,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter. “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.”

“We didn't even know it happened,” Matsuyama said. “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.

"Yeah, he just took it and ran,” he added.

That week, Matsuyama partnered with Ryo Hisatsune's looper, Taiga Tabuchi.

Earlier this year, Hayafuji was seen jumping for joy off the back of the 18th green with members of the Matsuyama team after his boss captured a record-breaking PGA Tour victory at The Sentry in Hawaii.

Matsuyama saw out an emphatic three-shot win over Collin Morikawa courtesy of firing a record PGA Tour low score of 35-under par at Kapalua.

The Sentry is one of eight signature events of the 2025 PGA Tour season and it therefore comes with a huge prize purse.

It is believed Shota pocketed in the region of $360,000 providing he was handed the full 10% fee.