Keita

Nakajima

Nakajima finished the week at 9 under, six shots behind winner Keegan Bradley and tied with Ryo Hisatsune for low honors among the 16 Japanese players in the 78-man field. Nakajima closed with nine straight pars and fell one shot short of a top-10 finish, which would have gained him entry into the next full-field PGA Tour event (Bermuda Championship), but it was still an impressive pro debut for the 22-year-old who made three major starts this year based on his amateur accolades.

Nakajima played in five Tour events last season, including three majors where invites came by virtue of his Asia-Pacific Amateur victory and receipt of the McCormack Medal as the top-ranked amateur in the world for 2021. This week he’s playing for a paycheck for the first time and showing no signs of struggle, carding a 7-under 63 in the second round that lifted him into solo fifth at 7 under and three shots off the lead. Nakajima made nine birdies in the second round on a day when John Huh (61), Andrew Putnam (62) and Rickie Fowler (63) also went low. But Nakajima’s performance stands out given the circumstances, and at the halfway point he is now the top score among the 16 Japanese players in the 78-man field. That includes former top-ranked amateur and defending champ Hideki Matsuyama, who trails Nakajima by seven shots after rounds of 71-69.

Nakajima won the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, a victory that netted him an invite to this year’s Masters where he shot 72-79. He also earned spots in the U.S. Open and Open Championship as the McCormack Award recipient for being the top-ranked amateur in the world in 2021. Nakajima played primarily this summer on the Japan Golf Tour while maintaining his amateur status, but he’s now set to make his pro debut on a sponsor exemption at Narashino CC where he hopes to emulate former top amateur (and Zozo defending champion) Hideki Matsuyama. A native of Saitama, Japan, Nakajima played in five PGA Tour events last season including a T-28 performance at this event while still an amateur.

The 21-year-old Nakajima of Japan, who is in the field by virtue of his win at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, admitted he’s feeling the nerves but is honored to be playing the year’s first major: “Following the footsteps of Takumi Kanaya and Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama – it’s an honor to do that. I would like to be proud to myself to represent all the amateur players in the world.” Nakajimi was given a sponsor exemption into the Sony Open in January, where he made the cut and finished 41st. In 2021, he became the second straight player to win the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking after Takumi Kanaya in 2020, and the honor also gets him an exemption into the 2022 U.S. Open. For Jarvis, a Cayman Islands native who plays college golf at UNLV, he won the Latin American Amateur Championship to earn his first start at Augusta, where he got the best rejection ever from Tiger Woods on Sunday. Click the link below to read how the fun exchange went down.

The 21-year-old from Japan is playing this week on a sponsor’s invite. He’s making good use of the opportunity so far. It’s been a balanced attack as he currently ranks 52nd or better in all four sub-categories of strokes gained. Today, he gave himself seven birdie-or-better looks from inside of 13 feet. Nakajima gained 2.6 strokes putting en route to converting on six of those chances. The youngster has been playing his fair share of events on the Japan Golf Tour so entering a professional event is nothing new for him. This is just his sixth round played on the PGA TOUR, though, and the first time he’s found himself inside of the top 25 after any round. Gamers should watch closely to see how he responds after sleeping on such a high position on the leaderboard.

The 21-year-old from Tokyo played his first Tour event in October at the Zozo Championship on home soil in Japan and finished T-28. Nakajima met with media on Tuesday and noted he’s placing emphasis on his tee shots at Waialae Country Club, and also admitted, “I feel a bit of pressure. But I need to enjoy the tournament, just enjoy.” He said he’s also looking forward to this year’s Masters and Open Championship, where he earned a spot in field at each by virtue of his win at the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Last year, Nakajima won the Panasonic Open on the Japan Golf Tour as an amateur, beating Ryutaro Nagano in a playoff. He made seven cuts in 10 starts on the JGT in 2021, with a win and a runner-up finish at the Token Homemate Cup. He also won the 2021 Mark H. McCormack Medal as top player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking at the end of the 2021 amateur season, which gets him an exemption into the 2022 U.S. Open.

The youngster from Japan has sat atop for World Amateur Golf Rankings for the last 45 weeks. He has already found his way into 28 pro events since the start of 2015 and has three podium finishes to his name. All three of those top-3 finishes have come in the last year. His strong play led to winning the Mark H. McCormack Medal, following in the footsteps of fellow countryman, Takumi Kanaya. Nakajima will now make his first appearance in a PGA TOUR event. The lack of a cutline may help ease the nerves but it’s still a big jump in field strength. Gamers might want to give him in look as a DFS sleeper this week.