Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama robbed after Paris Olympics
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Japan's Hideki Matsuyama warming up ahead of the FedEx St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind, on Aug 14, in Memphis, Tennessee.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and his team were robbed during a stopover in London while heading to the St Jude Championship, the first leg of the PGA Tour FedExCup play-offs, after winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, Japanese media reported on Aug 14.
The former Masters champion told Golf Digest Japan that he had his wallet stolen, and the passports and visas of his caddie, Shota Hayato, and coach Mikihito Kuromiya were also taken.
World No. 12 Matsuyama told the website that Hayato and Kuromiya have returned to Japan to get their documents reissued.
The earliest they will be able to travel to the United States will be for the Aug 29-Sept 1 season-ending Tour Championship.
“There’s a chance they’ll make it, but we have to go into it thinking it’s close to zero,” Matsuyama told Golf Digest.
Filling in on his bag will be Taiga Tabuchi, the caddie for Ryo Hisatsune, who did not qualify for the three-event FedExCup play-offs.
“I’m glad he accepted,” the 32-year-old said.
“He’s worked with Hisatsune this year, so I think he knows the ropes, and he can speak English, so I can rely on him.”
Representatives for Matsuyama and the PGA Tour did not immediately respond when asked to confirm reports of the robbery.
Matsuyama secured Japan’s first Olympic medal in men’s golf in Paris, after losing in a seven-man bronze play-off at Tokyo 2020.
Videos online showed Matsuyama warming up for the St Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis, where he is scheduled to play the opening two rounds on Aug 15 and 16.
The top 50 finishers move on to the Aug 22 to 25 BMW Championship in Castle Rock, Colorado, from where the top 30 go on to the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Mounir Nasraoui, the father of Barcelona and Spain star winger Lamine Yamal, is in a “serious but stable” condition after being stabbed late on Aug 14 in a carpark.
The assault took place in the north-eastern Spanish town of Mataro, Spanish national TV broadcaster TVE reported.
The regional police force Mossos d’Esquadra confirmed the report and told Reuters three people had been arrested for attempted murder.
The 17-year-old Yamal, a football wunderkind who grew up in coastal Mataro – a working-class, multi-ethnic suburb of Barcelona – became the breakout star of the recent Euro 2024 held in Germany.
He helped Spain to win the tournament and scored in their semi-final victory over France.
TVE said on Aug 15 that Yamal’s father had been stabbed three times, twice in the abdomen and once in the chest.
Nasraoui was admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital in Badalona, Barcelona, late on Aug 14 and was expected to remain there for the upcoming hours, the report said.
TVE added that a fourth person had been arrested by the regional police on Aug 14, with his involvement in the stabbing still unclear.
The broadcaster said the police were investigating a previous fight as the reason behind the incident.
Several videos could be seen on social media on Aug 14 showing Nasraoui having an argument with some individuals in the Rocafonda neighbourhood and the police intervening. However, Reuters was not able to independently verify them. REUTERS
