It may take years to accurately gauge just what type of impact Matsuyama's achievement will have on Japan, both from an economic and participation standpoint. But if the immediate reaction back home is any indication, the sport's brightest days still lie ahead.

Japanese broadcasters sent messages to TVs throughout the country alerting citizens to the victory. Morning shows continued to discuss the triumph days later. And according to Kuramoto, his friends in the Japan offices of Srixon-Matsuyama's primary equipment provider-came in early to watch the final round, while Matsuyama's local high school excused students from the classroom to watch the tournament together.

'The Prime Minister, the former Prime Minister, movie stars, athletes, everybody is exulting,' Komatsu said. 'They're telling him, 'Thank you.' I guess that's a Japanese mentality. We're very grateful of him winning because we hope, we cheer on, we pray. And we know that puts a tremendous amount of pressure on him.

'General sports fans are happy, because we have Naomi Osaka winning Grand Slams in tennis, Shohei Otani pitching and hitting home runs, and now Hideki. We hope he can become the next Ichiro Suzuki, who had such longevity in professional baseball.'

It should be noted that is not be the first boon for Japanese golf, nor is it likely to be the last.

The country's first big introduction to the sport came in 1957, when a scrawny, 5-foot-2 golfer named Torakichi Nakamura shocked the world by defeating the legendary Sam Snead before going on to win the Canada Cup (known today as the World Cup) at Kasumigaseki Country Club, now the site of the golf competition for the 2021 Olympic Games.

Nakamura would become the first Japanese player to compete in the Masters the following year, in turn helping pave the way for a generation of future stars, including PGA TOUR winners such as Shigeki Maruyama, Isao Aoki and World Golf Hall of Famer Jumbo Ozaki.

'There are so many more players who had potential, but unfortunately, they hesitated because Japan is so Far East,' Komatsu said. 'The Pacific Ocean is so vast. They couldn't just come to the United States, live here and try it out throughout the year. But now as golf grows globally, the top players have been increasing in Japan.'

Consider it the male version of the 'Ai Miyazato Effect,' as Kuramoto likes to call it. Many of the female Japanese stars of today credit Miyazato's rapid ascension to World No. 1-as well as her first professional win while still in high school-for their own path into professional golf.

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