Keita Nakajima (, born 24 June 2000) is a Japanese professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He had an exceptional amateur career; he won the 2021 Panasonic Open on the Japan Golf Tour while still an amateur and was number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 87 weeks. He turned professional in 2022, and won three times on the Japan Golf Tour the following year, topping the tour's money list. Nakajima won his first title on the European Tour in 2024.
Amateur career Nakajima started playing golf at six and had a successful amateur career, winning the 2018 Australian Amateur and the 2021 Japan Amateur Championship, after finishing runner-up at the event in 2015, 2017 and 2019. He was runner-up at the 2017 Duke of York Young Champions Trophy in England and the 2019 Australian Master of the Amateurs. In 2018, he was runner-up at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, before winning the event in 2021 in a playoff with Hong Kong's Taichi Kho. Nakajima became the third Japanese champion of the tournament, joining Hideki Matsuyama and Takumi Kanaya.
He played in a number of representative matches, including the 2017 Nomura Cup, the 2022 Eisenhower Trophy and the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup, which the international team won 33½–26½ over the American team. Nakajima won both the individual and team gold medals at the 2018 Asian Games. He was world ranked number 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for a record 87 weeks between 2020 and 2022, surpassing Jon Rahm's previous record of 60 weeks. He won the Mark H. McCormack Medal for 2021 and 2022, the first two-time recipient.
While still an amateur, Nakajima played in a number of professional tournaments. In 2021, he was runner-up at the Token Homemate Cup, a stroke behind Takumi Kanaya, and won the Panasonic Open in a playoff. After he made the cut at the 2022 Sony Open in Hawaii, he rose to 188th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Professional career Nakajima turned professional in the fall of 2022 and made his professional PGA Tour debut at the 2022 Zozo Championship, where he finished T12.
In 2023, Nakajima won three times on the Japan Golf Tour in his rookie season. He topped the money list, as well as claiming Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year honours. By finishing first in the season standings, he earned a card on the European Tour for the 2024 season.
In March 2024, Nakajima claimed his first victory on the European Tour, winning the Hero Indian Open wire-to-wire by four shots.
Nakajima finished runner-up at the Porsche Singapore Classic in March 2025, one stroke behind Richard Mansell. The following week, in his title defense at the Hero Indian Open, Nakajima finished solo-second, two strokes behind Eugenio Chacarra. In October, Nakajima recorded his third runner-up finish of the year, at the DP World India Championship. He held the 54-hole lead and shot a final-round 69, but was overtaken by Tommy Fleetwood, who shot 65.
Amateur wins 2016 TrueVisions International Junior Championship, Faldo Series Asia Japan Championship 2017 Kanto Amateur Championship 2018 Australian Amateur, Asian Games (Men's individual) 2021 Japan Amateur Championship, Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship
Source:
Professional wins (5) European Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up131 Mar 2024Hero Indian Open1−17 (65-65-68-73=271)4 strokes Veer Ahlawat, Sebastian Söderberg, Johannes Veerman 1Co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India
Japan Golf Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up126 Sep 2021Panasonic Open(as an amateur)−18 (69-68-65-68=270)Playoff Ryutaro Nagano211 Jun 2023ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament−29 (67-64-63-65=259)Playoff Takumi Kanaya36 Aug 2023Yokohama Minato Championship−13 (69-69-67-66=271)1 stroke Taiga Semikawa45 Nov 2023Mynavi ABC Championship−24 (63-69-66-66=264)3 strokes Shaun Norris
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (2–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12021Panasonic Open(as an amateur) Ryutaro NaganoWon with par on first extra hole22023Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open Kensei HirataLost to birdie on third extra hole32023ASO Iizuka Challenged Golf Tournament Takumi KanayaWon with birdie on second extra hole
Results in major championships Tournament20222023202420252026Masters TournamentCUTPGA ChampionshipCUTCUTU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTCUTCUTCUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut
Team appearances Amateur Nomura Cup (representing Japan): 2017 Junior Golf World Cup (representing Japan): 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup (representing International team): 2019 (winners) Eisenhower Trophy (representing Japan): 2018, 2022
See also 2025 Race to Dubai dual card winners
References
External links