Keita Nakajima Facts: 18 Things You Didn't Know About The Japanese Golfer

Keita Nakajima is a Japanese pro golfer who competes on the DP World Tour. He enjoyed one of the best amateur careers of any male player and is searching to recreate that form in the paid ranks. Discover more about his life and career via these facts.

KEITA NAKAJIMA FACTS

1. Nakajima was born on the June 24, 2000 in Saitama, Japan.

2. He began playing golf around the age of six as the rest of his family were all keen golfers.

3. Nakajima said his dream to become a professional golfer began when he was in junior high school.

4. The first golfer Nakajima saw on TV was Tiger Woods. He said: “I don’t really remember any particular shots, I just remember his huge fist pumps every time he wins, which I always thought was really cool."

5. Nakajima was the men's World Amateur No.1 for a record 87 weeks in total. The second longest streak is held by Jon Rahm with 60. However, even Nakajima's record is nothing compared to Rose Zhang, who was women's World Amateur No.1 for an incredible 142 weeks ahead of Leona Maguire (135).

6. He won the 2018 Australian Amateur and the 2021 Japan Amateur Championship.

7. Nakajima booked a ticket to the 2022 Masters and The Open Championship at St. Andrews via victory in a playoff at the 2021 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. He is the third player from Japan to win the event after Hideki Matsuyama and Takumi Kanaya.

8. Nakajima won both team and individual gold at the 2018 Asian Games.

9. He was the first (and so far only) player to be awarded the Mark H. McCormack Medal twice.

10. He attended Nippon Sport Science University in Japan.

11. Nakajima claimed his first victory on the Japan Golf Tour as an amateur, winning the Panasonic Open in 2021.

12. He turned professional in the Fall of 2022, going on to win three more Japan Golf Tour titles in his rookie campaign.

13. In his PGA Tour debut at the 2022 Zozo Championship - won by his idol, Hideki Matsuyama - Nakajima finished a very respectable T28th.

14. He uses a full bag of TaylorMade golf clubs and is a TaylorMade staffer for apparel, too.

15. He is a fan of the Los Angeles Angels MLB baseball team. Fellow Japanese athlete Shohei Ohtani played for the team (2018-2023) and was named American League MVP in 2021 before moving to the LA Dodgers in 2024, where he won the World Series.

16. Nakajima credits Hideki Matsuyama and Takumia Kanaya as big heroes of his.

17. Nakajima secured his maiden victory on the DP World Tour at the 2024 Hero Indian Open, winning in wire-to-wire fashion by four strokes.

18. He represented Japan at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at finished T49th.

KEITA NAKAJIMA BIO

KEITA NAKAJIMA PRO WINS

* won as an amateur