Hideki Matsuyama changes his caddie for the $9,600,000 Rocket Classic event

Hideki Matsuyama has a new caddie on the bag this week at the 2025 Rocket Classic, Mei Inui. The Japanese golfer is making his 17th start of the season at the $9.6 million event. The latest development has come to the fore because his longtime caddie, Shota Hayato, is unavailable at the moment.

Matsuyama was last seen in action at the Travelers Championship, where he finished tied for 30th at 4-under-par.

Meanwhile, Hideki is married to Mei Matsuyama. They got married in 2017 and share a daughter, Kanna. The couple has largely kept their personal life private, making Mei’s appearance as his caddie at the Rocket Classic a rare and special moment for fans to see.

Speaking at the 2017 Northern Trust Open in August, Hideki Matsuyama explained why his marriage and family life stayed private for so long.

“No one really asked me if I was married, so I didn’t have to answer that question. But I felt that after the [2017] PGA would be a good time, because our baby is born and I thought that would be a good time to let everyone know,” he was quoted as saying by Golf Monthly.

Both Mei and Kanna avoid the spotlight; fans have never seen them at events like the Masters, even when Hideki won in 2021.

When will Hideki Matsuyama tee off in the second round of the Rocket Classic?

Hideki Matsuyama will tee off early on Friday, June 27, for the second round of the 2025 Rocket Classic. He is scheduled to start from the 10th tee at 7:29 a.m. local time. Matsuyama will play alongside Ben Griffin and Max Homa.

The 33-year-old missed the Rocket Classic last year, and his most recent appearance at the event was in 2023, where he failed to make the cut.

Here are the complete Round 2 tee times for the 2025 Rocket Classic:

Tee No. 1:

• 6:45 a.m. – Justin Lower, Isaiah Salinda, Mac Meissner
• 6:56 a.m. – Ryan Gerard, Chan Kim, Aldrich Potgieter
• 7:07 a.m. – Ryan Brehm, Hayden Buckley, Greyson Sigg
• 7:18 a.m. – Harry Hall, Aaron Wise, Joseph Bramlett
• 7:29 a.m. – Si Woo Kim, Davis Thompson, Chris Kirk
• 7:40 a.m. – Matt McCarty, Davis Riley, Camillo Villegas
• 7:51 a.m. – Garrick Higgo, Rafael Campos, Nick Hardy
• 8:02 a.m. – Chad Ramey, Sam Ryder, Harry Higgs
• 8:13 a.m. – Kevin Kisner, Doug Ghim, Ricky Castillo
• 8:24 a.m. – Harrison Endycott, Takumi Kanaya, William Mouw
• 8:35 a.m. – Paul Peterson, Kaito Onishi, Andi Xu
• 8:46 a.m. – Thirston Lawrence, Jackson Suber, Joe Hooks
• 8:57 a.m. – Gordon Sargent, Rikuya Hoshino, Ashton McCulloch (a)
• 12:10 p.m. – Lanto Griffin, Alex Noren, Alex Smalley
• 12:21 p.m. – Carson Young, Will Gordon, Thorbjorn Olesen
• 12:32 p.m. – Andrew Putnam, David Lipsky, Danny Walker
• 12:43 p.m. – Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis, Wyndham Clark
• 12:54 p.m. – Keegan Bradley, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay
• 1:05 p.m. – Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Akshay Bhatia
• 1:16 p.m. – Nick Dunlap, Kurt Kitayama, Adam Schenk
• 1:27 p.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker
• 1:38 p.m. – Ben Martin, Jeremy Paul, Rasmus Hjogaard
• 1:49 p.m. – Trevor Cone, Noah Goodwin, Paul Waring
• 2:00 p.m. – Evan Brown, Jesper Svensson, Steven Fisk
• 2:11 p.m. – Otto Black, Will Chandler, Matthew Riedel
• 2:22 p.m. – Taylor Dickson, John Pak, Dominic Clemons (a)

Tee No. 10:

• 6:45 a.m. – Joel Dahmen, Keith Mitchell, Kevin Roy
• 6:56 a.m. – Nate Lashley, Patrick Rodgers, Vince Whaley
• 7:07 a.m. – Danny Willett, Ryo Hisatsune, Henrik Norlander
• 7:18 a.m. – Tom Kim, Jake Knapp, Stephan Jaeger
• 7:29 a.m. – Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa
• 7:40 a.m. – Gary Woodland, Cameron Young, Austin Eckroat
• 7:51 a.m. – Chris Gotterup, Emiliano Grillo, Adam Svensson
• 8:02 a.m. – Max Greyserman, Mark Hubbard, Nicolai Hjogaard
• 8:13 a.m. – Ryan Palmer, Beau Hossler, Ben Kohles
• 8:24 a.m. – Kevin Velo, Luke Clanton, Brett White
• 8:35 a.m. – James Piot, Braden Thornberry, Frankie Capan III
• 8:46 a.m. – Philip Knowles, Thomas Rosenmueller, Ben Cook
• 8:57 a.m. – Anders Albertson, Cristobal Del Solar, Vince Covello
• 12:10 p.m. – Adam Hadwin, Victor Perez, David Skinns
• 12:21 p.m. – Aaron Baddeley, Patrick Fishburn, Ben Silverman
• 12:32 p.m. – Trey Mullinax, Rico Hoey, Chandler Phillips
• 12:43 p.m. – Nico Echavarria, Patton Kizzire, Peter Malnati
• 12:54 p.m. – Luke List, Lee Hodges, Seamus Power
• 1:05 p.m. – Joe Highsmith, Brice Garnett, Francesco Molinari
• 1:16 p.m. – Webb Simpson, Zach Johnson, Byeong Hun An
• 1:27 p.m. – Taylor Moore, Karl Vilips, Matt Wallace
• 1:38 p.m. – Cameron Champ, Michael Kim, Jacob Bridgeman
• 1:49 p.m. – Alejandro Tosti, Sami Valimaki, Max McGreevy
• 2:00 p.m. – Antoine Rozner, Quade Cummins, David Ford
• 2:11 p.m. – Hayden Springer, Mason Andersen, Kris Ventura
• 2:22 p.m. – Michael Thorbjornsen, Norman Xiong, Michael La Sasso (a)