Kanaya Keen to Build on Match Play Momentum

Austin, Texas, United States: Takumi Kanaya is eager to build on the momentum of another top-10 finish on the PGA Tour after bowing out of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.

Despite a 5&3 loss to Canadian Corey Conners in the Round of 16 at Austin Country Club, Kanaya held his head high following wins in the group stage over higher ranked golfers, Tony Finau and Lucas Herbert.

He now heads to the Valero Texas Open next week and will then join fellow-Japanese Hideki Matsuyama and World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) number one Keita Nakajima at the Masters Tournament, the first Major of the year. Matsuyama is the defending Masters champion.

“I had a great time, a great experience in my first WGC event. Getting into the Round of 16 is good for my first time here. Good to have four rounds of experience as it’s different with match play format,” said the 23-year-old.

Kanaya’s gallant run in Austin means he will post a joint ninth result which will be his second top-10 on the PGA Tour following an equal seventh outing at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP on home soil last October.

He has now amassed 141 FedEx Cup points in the non-member category and can accept Special Temporary Membership should he equal or surpass the points earned by the 150^th placed golfer from last season’s final FedEx Cup standings, which is 287 points.

“The more points I get, hopefully I can have more opportunities to play in the future. Just keep building and do my best every week when I have the opportunity to play,” said Kanaya, currently 63rd in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Following a highly successful amateur career in which he was WAGR number one for 55 weeks and won the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Kanaya has established himself on the Japan Golf Tour with three wins. He harbours dreams of joining his idol, Matsuyama, on the PGA Tour but knows the road to the top is long and windy.

“My strong points need to get stronger and I need to keep hitting it straight and be more consistent,” said Kanaya. “I will not change anything and will aim to keep doing my best in the next two weeks and continue to have fun.”

He is also looking forward to reconnecting with his swing coach Gareth Jones, who arrives in the US from Australia this weekend. Kanaya has not seen Jones, who is the head coach of the Japan national team, in person since the Covid-19 pandemic began.

“He arrives tonight. I have not seen him for a while and we’ll work on some things to get ready for the next few weeks,” said Kanaya.