Tai hopes to keep cool at Masters

Singapore - Amateur Hiroshi Tai cites Green Jacket winners Hideki Matsuyama and Scottie Scheffler among his golfing heroes and is hoping "not to be in awe" of them when he becomes the first Singaporean to tee off at the US Masters in April.

"Being from Asia, Hideki Matsuyama is a big role model for how he carries himself on and off the golf course," the 22-year-old Tai told reporters in his home city at the weekend.

"Scottie Scheffler has been playing very well, and he is mentally very strong.

"I hope not to be in awe of them when we meet," added Tai, who studies business administration at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he made headlines earlier this year capturing college golf's biggest prize.