Gary Player welcomed Hideki Matsuyama to Masters Club in Japanese and more from Tuesday’s Champions Dinner

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hideki Matsuyama was welcomed into the Masters Club on Tuesday in appropriate fashion: with a saké toast.

“I told Hideki, ‘You’re one of us now.’” said Ben Crenshaw, who’s hosted the dinner since 2005. “A lot of us had seen this coming for a long time.”

Moments before the dinner, Gary Player made a point to find Crenshaw. The 1984 and 1995 Masters champion is tasked with welcoming the newest member of the Masters Club, but Player requested to share the role.

“Gary Player came over and asked, ‘May I say something to Hideki in Japanese?’” Crenshaw said. “Gary was our first international champion, and he gave a minute and a half speech in Japanese, where he welcomed Hideki as an international member.”

Player told the table that he had been to Japan 31 times, and learned the language throughout the years.

“My jaw hit the floor when Gary started speaking,” 1971 winner Charles Coody said. “And you could tell he spoke it well, too, because Hideki kept nodding with respect.”

As Player finished, Matsuyama rose from his seat and gave a speech in English. He began by apologizing for his broken English and then spoke of his appreciation to join the group.

“Hideki apologized to us, but he did a great job,” 1979 winner Fuzzy Zoeller said. “Hell, his English was better than half the people at my house after 10 o’clock.”

Matsuyama served the table a Japanese-inspired menu, which featured assorted sushi and sashimi.

The main course was a wagyu beef ribeye steak served with mushrooms and vegetables.

“I don’t eat anything that’s not totally dead,” said Coody, who declined the sushi but ordered the wagyu steak. “If it’s still moving, I’ll shoot it.”

Tuesday’s dinner marked the first meeting since the January death of 1968 champ Bob Goalby. Also missing were Phil Mickelson and 1956 winner Jackie Burke.

Crenshaw noted that he will attempt to convince Burke, who’s 99 years old, to appear next April for his 100th birthday.

“Man, wouldn’t that be something?” Crenshaw said of his fellow Texan. “I’m going to do what I can to get Jackie here.”

Champions react to Hideki’s dinner

Sir Nick Faldo

Fred Couples

Sergio Garcia

Trevor Immelman

Vijay Singh