Takumi Kanaya

Takumi Kanaya (Japanese: 金谷拓実, born 23 May 1998) is a Japanese professional golfer. He had an exceptionally successful amateur career and was world ranked number 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 55 weeks. He also won a professional event on the 2019 Japan Golf Tour while still an amateur.

Takumi Kanaya
Personal information
Born (1998-05-23) 23 May 1998
Kure, Hiroshima, Japan
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sporting nationality Japan
Career
CollegeTohoku Fukushi University
Turned professional2020
Current tour(s)European Tour
Japan Golf Tour
Asian Tour
Professional wins6
Highest ranking49 (5 December 2021)[1]
(as of 22 October 2023)
Number of wins by tour
Japan Golf Tour5
Asian Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT58: 2019
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 2021, 2022
U.S. OpenCUT: 2020
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Achievements and awards
Mark H. McCormack Medal2020
Japan Golf Tour
Rookie of the Year		2020–21
Medal record
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place2017 TaipeiMen's team
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2018 Jakarta–PalembangMen's team

Amateur career

Kanaya had a successful amateur career, winning the 2015 Japan Amateur Championship and the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.[2] The latter gave him entry to the Masters and the Open Championship in 2019.[2] He played in a number of representative matches, including the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy where he had the second best individual score.[2] Kanaya won team gold medals at the 2017 Summer Universiade and at the 2018 Asian Games.[2] He was world ranked number 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 55 weeks, winning the Mark H. McCormack Medal for 2020.[3][4]

While still an amateur, Kanaya played in a number of professional tournaments. He was the runner-up in the 2017 Japan Open Golf Championship, a stroke behind Yuta Ikeda.[5] He won the 2019 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters on the Japan Golf Tour and finished tied for 3rd place in the 2019 Emirates Australian Open.[5]

Professional career

Kanaya turned professional in October 2020 and made his professional debut at the Japan Open Golf Championship, finishing in 7th place.[6][7]

In November 2020, Kanaya won the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament. This was his second win in a professional tournament but his first since turning pro. The Dunlop Phoenix is regarded as one of the premier tournaments in Japan. The win moved him to 126th in the Official World Golf Ranking.[8]

Amateur wins
  • 2015 Japan High School Spring Championship, Japan Amateur Championship
  • 2016 JHGA Spring Championship 15 - 17, Chugoku Amateur Championship
  • 2018 Chugoku Amateur Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship

Source:[9]

Professional wins (6)

Japan Golf Tour wins (5)
Legend
Japan majors (1)
Other Japan Golf Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 17 Nov 2019 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters
(as an amateur)		 −13 (73-66-63-65=267) 1 stroke South Africa Shaun Norris
2 22 Nov 2020 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament −13 (68-66-68-69=271) Playoff Japan Toshihiro Ishizaka
3 18 Apr 2021 Token Homemate Cup −11 (67-65-70=202)* 1 stroke Japan Keita Nakajima (a)
4 4 Jun 2023 BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup −11 (64-71-67-71=273) 2 strokes Japan Yuki Inamori, Japan Hiroshi Iwata
5 3 Sep 2023 Fujisankei Classic −8 (68-68-69-67=272) 4 strokes Japan Naoyuki Kataoka

*Note: The 2021 Token Homemate Cup was shortened to 54 holes due to a positive COVID-19 test in the field.

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2020 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Japan Toshihiro Ishizaka Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
2 2023 ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament Japan Keita Nakajima Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Asian Tour wins (1)
Legend
International Series (1)
Other Asian Tour (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runners-up
1 12 Feb 2023 International Series Oman −10 (69-71-67-71=278) 4 strokes United States Berry Henson, Thailand Sadom Kaewkanjana

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 20192020202120222023
Masters Tournament T58 CUT
PGA Championship CUT CUT
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship CUT NT CUT CUT CUT
  Did not play

"T" = Tied
CUT = missed the halfway cut
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament2022
Match Play R16
Champions NT1

1Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic

  Top 10

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur

References
  1. "Week 49 2021 Ending 5 Dec 2021" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  2. "Takumi Kanaya Becomes Second Japanese Player to Win AAC Title at 10th Edition in Singapore". Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  3. "Kanaya makes WAGR history". WAGR. 9 September 2020.
  4. "World Number One Kanaya Claims Prestigious Award". Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. 10 September 2020.
  5. "Takumi Kanaya". OWGR. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  6. "Rising Japanese Star Kanaya Turns Professional". Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. 5 October 2020.
  7. "Takumi Kanaya solo 7th finish on debut game now heads to ZOZO Championship in US". Japan Golf Tour Organisation. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  8. "Official World Golf Ranking - Takumi Kanaya". 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  9. "Takumi Kanaya". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
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