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Hideki Matsuyama Winds Up in Creek on the Unluckiest Shot of The Masters So Far

Ryan Phillips

Hideki Matsuyama looks for his ball near Rae’s Creek on no. 13 during the first round of the Masters Tournament.
Hideki Matsuyama looks for his ball near Rae’s Creek on no. 13 during the first round of the Masters Tournament. / Katie Goodale-Imagn Images

Hideki Matsuyama caught what is easily the worst break of the 2025 Masters so far.

On Thursday, during the opening round of the tournament, Matsuyama hit an incredible shot that, thanks to an unlucky bounce, wound up in the water.

The 2021 Masters champion hit his third shot on the par-5 13th hole right at the pin. In fact, it bounced, then hit the flag stick. Things went rapidly downhill from there.

The deflection sent it right off the green and the ball rolled directly into Rae's Creek.

Video is below.

That is simply excruciating to watch. Instead of being inside 5 feet with a chance for an easy birdie, he got a penalty.

Matsuyama wound up taking a 7 on the hole, which took him from 1 under to 1 over on the day. That double bogey followed a bogey at the 12th hole and completely flipped his round on its head.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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