Flourishing Finish Earns Nakajima Low Amateur Honours

Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan: Living up to his billing as the number one player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Keita Nakajima produced a final-round flourish at the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf.

Improving his score for the fourth day is succession, the 20-year-old closed with a three-under-par 69 at Sagamihara Golf Club’s East Course.

That gave him a four-round aggregate of five-under 283 (73-71-70-69) in the event that is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) and the Asian Tour and is one of the Japan Golf Association’s four National Championships. He ended in a share of 13th place, eight strokes behind runaway winner Rikuya Hoshino.

Team and individual gold medallist at the Asian Games in Indonesia and joint runner-up to Takumi Kanaya in the 10th edition of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Singapore in 2018, this was Nakajima’s fourth top-15 finish in his last five starts on the JGTO. Late last year he was third in the Sumitomo Mitsui Visa Pacific Masters and equal eighth in the Dunlop Phoenix. Last month he was runner-up in the Token Homemade Cup before missing the cut at The Crowns.

Although Nakajima’s bid to become only the fifth amateur to win on the Japan Golf Tour fell short at the Kanagawa Prefecture venue, he had the satisfaction of winning the award for the Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup low amateur.

Of the six other Japanese amateurs who survived the half-way cut, Ren Yonezawa, seventh in the WAGR and low amateur winner the last time the tournament was staged in 2019, finished joint 25th on 286.

He was followed by second round co-leader Taiga Sugihara (tied 29th, 287), joint first-round leader Yuta Sugiura (tied 34th, 288), Riki Kawamoto (tied 42nd, 290), Jigen Serizawa (tied 61st, 295) and Sodai Furukawa (69th, 300).

The historic Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC)-supported event traditionally allocates 20 spots for the APGC’s leading amateurs, including the winner of the previous year’s APGC Junior Championship Mitsubishi Corporation Cup. However, due to travel restrictions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s event proceeded without overseas amateurs.

The Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup has been recognised by The R&A with an invitation extended to this week’s champion to compete in The Open in England in July.

The Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup is part of the APGC's portfolio of events that also includes the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, Nomura Cup, Queen Sirikit Cup, APGC Senior Championship, APGC Junior Championship Mitsubishi Corporation Cup, Bonallack Trophy and Patsy Hankins Trophy.