Shigeki Maruyama bringing out smiles and great play from Hideki Matsuyama at the Presidents Cup

MONTREAL (AP) — Shigeki Maruyama was all smiles, just like always, watching from in front of the 12th green as Hideki Matsuyama and Sungjae Im delivered a record-tying rout over America's best foursomes duo Friday at the Presidents Cup.

Maruyama was known as the “Smiling Assassin” during his career. His value as an assistant captain for the International team is that Matsuyama is now smiling, too.

It's been like that all summer. That smile is infectious.

“Hideki's rhythm is really important to him, the way he goes about his daily routine,” Maruyama said through his son, Sean, who played college golf at UCLA. “When he feels he needs a word to cheer him up, I step in and talk to him and it gets him to lighten up.”

Maruyama has been the Japan national coach at the Olympics since golf returned in 2016. Matsuyama had his best Olympic moment in Paris, winning a bronze medal. Two weeks later, he won the first PGA Tour playoff event at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Photos from Paris of Matsuyama looking free and happy caught the attention of International captain Mike Weir. He had one extra assistant to appoint, and the choice was obvious.

“You saw him at the Olympics. They were both smiling. He makes Hideki feel comfortable,” Weir said after watching Matsuyama and Im win 7 and 6, handing Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele their first foursomes loss in the Presidents Cup.

“That's how I got the idea, the Olympics,” Weir said. “I had the option for a fifth assistant and I thought, ‘That’s the guy.' Hideki has always been on his own.”

Matsuyama has been the lone Japanese player at the Presidents Cup since 2013. Before that, Ryo Ishikawa was the only Japanese player on the International team in 2011 and 2009. For three editions, there was none.

The only time the International team had two Japanese players was in 1998 with Maruyama and Joe Ozaki.

“It's been very helpful,” Matsuyama said through an interpreter. “The last time he came was 2013. He's helping a lot, a lot of good advice. I'm really happy that he's on our team.”

Maruyama, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour who won 10 times on the Japan Golf Tour, has been a mentor to the former Masters champion for more than a decade. They first connected when Matsuyama was playing in Japan and sought him out for advice on the short game.

They have stayed connected ever since, smiling and laughing, with a few motivational messages sprinkled in there.

One such moment came at the Sony Open in 2022, where Matsuyama hit 3-wood to 3 feet in a playoff to win in Hawaii for his eighth career PGA Tour title.

The winner's lei still draped around his neck, Matsuyama's phone started buzzing. It was a text from Maruyama telling him he had one more to go. They always talked about Matsuyama having more PGA Tour wins than any other Asian-born player.

K.J. Choi of South Korea was at eight.

Matsuyama took care of that by winning at Riviera — where Maruyama was once a member — and then added to the total later in the year. This is his sixth time playing in the Presidents Cup. Only Adam Scott, making his 11th appearance, has played more.

Neither knows what it's like to win one.

There's still three more sessions, and the International shutout on Friday brought the score back to 5-all.

Weir had a hunch his fifth assistant would pay dividends. Weir said he even showed videos to the young players on the team of Maruyama playing the Presidents Cup in Australia, where he teamed with Craig Parry to beat Tiger Woods and Fred Couples, and teamed with Ozaki to take down David Duval and Phil Mickelson.

“He’s just a great character. I think it puts a smile on Hideki’s face,” Weir said. “He's been fantastic in the team room. They called him the ‘Smiling Assassin’ back then. He's a lighthearted guy and fun to be around.”

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press