In a final round that wasn't as close as the final leaderboard would tell you, we have another first-time major winner in golf. Hideki Matsuyama's one-over 71 on Sunday was enough to hold off a late-round stumble to give the 29-year-old a Masters victory, becoming the first Japanese golfer to win a major.
In his tenth professional season, Matsuyama notched his 15th career victory, and his first since 2017. Despite his struggles in the last four years, he also shakes off the title as one of the best players in the world without a major victory. Multiple golfers have done away with that moniker in the last half-decade (including Matsuyama there have been 13 first-time major winners since 2015; so basically two per year). That gives us ample opportunity to look at who is due next to end their drought in the coming months or years.
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6) Rickie Fowler: Fowler's reputation puts him on this list far more than his current form. He has 11 top-10s in majors, finished in the top-five in each event in 2014, but the last two years have been a struggle. He's won just once since 2017 (the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open), he's ranked 101st in the world and failed to qualify for the Masters. He's still only 32, so there's plenty of time for him to find his form.
5) Tommy Fleetwood: Here's a fun fact: Fleetwood is a well-known name, is ranked 24th in the world, has a pair of runner-up finishes in majors and was a hero on the Ryder Cup team in 2018. Yet despite all that, he doesn't have a single victory on the PGA Tour. He's won elsewhere - notably the European Tour - but it's an oddity. Since the start of 2019 he's only threatened in one major, finishing second in the 2019 Open Championship.
4) Patrick Cantlay: Only Xander Schauffle (fifth) and Tyrrell Hatton (eighth) are higher in the world rankings without a major than the 29-year-old Cantlay. With three career PGA wins, most notably the 2019 Memorial, he's a consistent ball-striker, but has struggled recently in majors. He missed the cut at Augusta, and hasn't finished higher than 17th in any of his last seven majors. He does, however, have a pair of top-10 finishes in 2019 at the Masters (T9th) and PGA Championship (third).
3) Tony Finau: He only has two professional victories - one on the PGA, one on the Korn Ferry Tour - but the 31-year-old has done basically everything except win. Since the start of 2018 - a span of a dozen majors - he's finished in the top-10 eight times (including a T10th last weekend) and in the top-five four times. A bomber off the tee and ranked 12th in the world, one of these weekends he's going to put it all together and come out on top.
2) Xander Schauffle: He's come about as close as a player can get without actually winning a major. Having played in only 15 in his young career, he's already finished tied for second twice, finished in the top-five on six occasions, and has two other top-10 finishes. He had a chance on Sunday, but a three-hole stretch on the front and a triple-bogey on the par-3 16th ended his hopes at a green jacket. A top-five player in the world, Schauffle is as close to a guarantee as it gets that come Sunday, he'll be lurking.
1) Jon Rahm: Ranked third in the world, it seems to be only a matter of time before Rahm starts collecting majors. He has five PGA Tour victories, most recently last August at the BMW Championship, and he's flirted with the fringes at the big events; since 2018 he has four top-five finishes (including a T-5th at the Masters) and another pair of top-10s. Still only 26, the guy who became the fifth-youngest World No. 1 ever last year will get his due.