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)
Nationality Japan
Career
CollegeTohoku Fukushi University
Turned professional2020
Current tour(s)Japan Golf Tour
Professional wins2
Number of wins by tour
Japan Golf Tour2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT58: 2019
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenCUT: 2020
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2019
Achievements and awards
Mark H. McCormack Medal2020

Amateur career

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

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.[4] 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.[4]

Professional career

Kanaya turned professional in October 2020 and made his professional debut at the Japan Open Golf Championship, finishing in 7th place.[5][6]

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.[7]

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:[8]

Professional wins (2)

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 17 Nov 2019 Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters
(as an amateur)		 −13 (73-66-63-65=267) 1 stroke Shaun Norris
2 22 Nov 2020 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament −13 (68-66-68-69=271) Playoff Toshihiro Ishizaka

Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2020 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Toshihiro Ishizaka Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 20192020
Masters Tournament T58
PGA Championship
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship CUT NT
  Did not play

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

Team appearances

Amateur

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