The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am has been going ahead with a full head of steam. While the golf has been a delight for fans, with big names like Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, and Rory McIlroy making their 2025 PGA Tour debuts, the event also has seen some remarkable moments. The event also featured two aces, courtesy of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. One standout moment on Day 2 was an honest mistake from one of the volunteers at Pebble Beach.
While getting ready to tee off, Hideki Matsuyama was announced loudly by the volunteer. “On the tee from [Sendai], Japan, Hideki Matsu-moola.” The mispronunciation was noticed by the Japanese golfer who pushed it away in a light-hearted manner, with one of his trademark laughs. The crowd also joined in to make for a memorable moment on the course.
The volunteer was quick to apologize to the Japanese as soon as she realized her mistake but netizens were not so forgiving. Underneath the PGA Tour’s official Instagram page’s post on the incident, a few users made their thoughts clear.
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One Instagram user was swift and precise in his thoughts about the situation. “That’s pathetic“, his comment read.
“You’d think we could consistently find people that are golf fans that know the golfers and introduce them. Probably asking too much,” said one user, who feels like that the Tour should do a better job when searching for volunteers.
Volunteer under fire for mispronouncing Matsuyama’s name
Another user was quick to point out that Matsuyama was not an unfamiliar face in the Tour circuit. He has won a Major and has also claimed victory in 11 PGA Tour events. Despite that, he is name was grossly mispronounced. “He’s a Masters champ, not even some rookie or 15 year old kid. And it wasn’t even close to his pronunciation.”
Another fan thought that the announcement could have been given some thought, but he was also appreciative of the way Hideki handled the terse situation. The Japanese golfer had laughed it off nonchalantly. “Zero respect! At least Hideki seemed to have laughed and been light hearted about it.”
A few fans expected a minimum amount of professionalism and understanding from the volunteer. They meant getting the name and pronunciation right is not that difficult considering that the PGA Tour did release a pronunciation guide before the event. A quick perusal of the guide could have gone a long way in preventing the mistake. “How bout take 2 minutes and read through the names before the event? But seriously, dude is a masters champion… who’d they hire to read the names?? ”
PGA Tour pronunciation guide
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: @Mike_kim714) pic.twitter.com/QVQ4etCcPF
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) January 27, 2025
One user went the funny route. Starbucks is known for messing up people’s names on the order so much that it has become a trend on social media. The netizen compared the mispronunciation to a Starbucks employee doing the same at the famed coffee shop. “Was she ordering Starbucks?” The Instagram user quipped.
The viral moment has every chance to become a meme down the line, with some users saying, “MATSUMOOLA” on the caddy bib next event”. Well, it’s not that big a deal. Anyone could’ve made such a mistake!
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