Kanaya Aiming to Prove He Belongs Among Golf's Elite

Austin, Texas, United States: Takumi Kanaya views his appearance in this week’s World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play as the latest opportunity for him to stamp his mark on the global stage.

The ex-Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) winner and former world amateur number one is Japan’s sole representative in the elite 64-man field at Austin Country Club this week, following the withdrawal of Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who is recovering from back and shoulder injuries ahead of his Augusta National defence next month.

Kanaya has been drawn in a tough group alongside world number nine Xander Schauffele, the 23rd ranked Tony Finau and fellow WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play debutant Lucas Herbert of Australia, another former AAC participant.

Only the group winner following the round-robin matches advances into the round of 32.

“It’s an amazing group of players and I’m going to have to play well in order to continue on throughout the week,” said 23-year-old Kanaya. “It’s my first match play tournament as a professional and I’m paired in a very strong group. I just hope to play well and have a good week.

“As an amateur, I had many opportunities to play in match play events, such as the US Amateur, but this is different. It’s against the best players in the world and each match will have even more pressure. My goal is to play well and make it as far as I can.”

Since winning the 2018 AAC at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club and making the cut at the Masters in 2019, Kanaya’s progress has been closely followed by Japanese media.

A three-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, he broke into the world’s top-50 at the end of last season to secure a second Masters appearance.

A tied for seventh at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP on home soil last October secured him a career first PGA Tour top-10 finish. “It gave me a lot of confidence to know I can compete on the PGA Tour if I play the kind of golf I know I’m capable of,” said Kanaya, who faces Schauffele in his first match today.

“The level of play on the PGA Tour is second to none and the golf courses we play are some of the toughest in the world. I’ve had the opportunity to play in a number of PGA Tour events but I haven’t had the results that I would have hoped for,” he said.

“This week is another chance to gain more experience and hopefully prove that I belong out here.”

After missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard three weeks ago, Kanaya spent some time in Orlando with Matsuyama and also visited Augusta National for a practice round with his caddie. He said it was eye-opening to be around Matsuyama, who is an eight-time PGA Tour winner.

“Being able to practice with Hideki and watch his technique, as well as being able to pick his brain and ask him questions about how to compete on the PGA Tour and learn from his experience is invaluable. Hopefully, I can take those things he’s taught me and put them into my game this week,” said Kanaya.