Read the full story on SportsLook - [JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Takumi Kanaya Aims to Encourage Cancer-Stricken Mother
There are personal stories behind individual achievements and team triumphs in sports, and golfer Takumi Kanaya is living proof that inspiration is often a driving force of success.
Kanaya, who turned pro in 2020, collected his fourth Japan Golf Tour tournament title on Sunday, June 4 by winning the BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup.
The 25-year-old Hiroshima Prefecture native shot an 11-under 273 at Shishido Hills Country Club in Kasama, Ibaraki Prefecture, holding off runners-up Yuki Imamori, Hiroshi Iwata, Young Han Song and Keita Nakajima by two strokes in the Japan Golf Tour Championship, one of four major championships on the tour.
Kanaya paid tribute to his mother, Miyako, after earning his first JGT title since April 2021 (Token Homemate Cup).
"My mother is battling breast cancer and this win is for her," Kanaya said at Shishido Hills Country Club. "Hopefully, it'll go some way towards helping her with her recovery. It will make her happy."
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer of 2022.
Kanaya had a 7-under 64 in the opening round and a 4-under 67 in the third round. He had even-par 71 efforts in the second and fourth rounds.
Playing Aggressively Pays Off
"I was really looking forward to a win this week and I'm really happy I managed to do it. It has been a long week with the multiple weather delays," said Kanaya, who tied for third in the Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open, which wrapped up on May 28.
He added, "I knew I had to play really aggressively to stand a chance of winning, and I'm pleased I managed to win by two shots this week."
Kanaya was the world's top-ranked men's amateur before turning pro. He earned the Mark H. McCormick Medal in recognition of his World Amateur Golf Ranking at the end of the 2020 season. Nakajima followed by winning it in 2021 and 2022.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven.
