We Stan Hideki
Hideki Matsuyama carrying the green jacket through the airport and flying commercial is extremely on brand
Everything written about new Masters champ Hideki Matsuyama would indicate he's a man who is not very flashy. Despite earning nearly $35 million on the course in his PGA Tour career, he still drives a minivan. On Saturday, during a lengthy rain delay, while other competitors may have been schmoozing it up in the clubhouse or getting work done on their bodies, Matsuyama sat in his car and played games on his phone.
If there was ever a time to ball out, though, it's after you've won the green jacket. If Matsuyama wanted to pop champagne and eat caviar on a private jet back home today, no one would blame him. But it appears the life-altering victory has not altered his low-key lifestyle. On Monday, a fan who happened to be at the Atlanata airport spotted Matsuyama strolling to his commercial flight, with his new coat in tow:
Doesn't get any more on brand than that, does it? No hanger, nothing to carry the green jacket in, and no private jet for Hideki. He just threw it over his arm and trudged through the airport like the rest of us would. Incredible. As some have alreay pointed out, Matsuyama is likely headed back home to Japan, and a private flight back to Japan would be wildly expensive, even for a man who just won over $2 million.
UPDATE: Another golf fan replied to the above tweet with a photo of Matsuyama chilling out with the green jacket draped over a seat as he waited to board a 6:45 a.m. flight to Chicago. What a scene: