As the late afternoon shadows lengthened on the final day at last year’s US Masters at Augusta, Georgia, Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama stood in the middle of the par-five 15th fairway with a four-shot lead, and weighed up his options. He could lay up, pitch on for three and secure a par (and risk losing a shot to his pursuers) or go for the green, two-putt for birdie and seal the tournament.

He was acutely aware that, for all the heroics of his countrymen over the years – particularly Tommy Nakajima, Isao Aoki and Ryo Ishikawa – none had been able to win any of the four major championships in men’s golf: the US Open, the US Masters, the US PGA or the Open Championship.