SPORTS
February 7, 2022
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 17
Kanaya, Nakajima following big footsteps of Hideki Matsuyama
By Doug Ferguson
AP Golf Writer
ONOLULU — The Monday morning of the first
Japan Golf Tour event of the year was no time to
be anywhere except in front of a television.
That’s where Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima
could be found in Nagoya last April, each captivated by
images of Hideki Matsuyama winning the Masters to
become the first Japanese player in a green jacket.
“I was simply watching the telecast and cheering him on
in the hotel prior to the tournament that I was playing in,
and I was very inspired by his win,” Kanaya said through
an interpreter at the Sony Open.
“No sleep,” Nakajima added in English with a smile.
“Very excited.”
That week after Matsuyama became a Masters
champion, Kanaya certainly played inspired golf. He won
the Token Homemate Cup for his second title as a pro in
just his sixth start on the Japan Golf Tour. Nakajima
finished one shot behind.
Kanaya previously won in Japan when he was the No. 1
amateur in the world.
Nakajima was a sophomore in college when he finished
second to Kanaya, and now he is the No. 1 amateur in the
world. Nakajima also won on the Japan tour as an
amateur, at the Panasonic Open, before capturing the
Asia-Pacific Amateur.
Both were at the Sony Open in January on sponsor
exemptions, and both consider Matsuyama a major source
of motivation.
“First and foremost, his playing is second-to-none, and
not only me but a lot of the Japanese players have been
inspired to play well on U.S. soil,” Kanaya said.
Matsuyama was also in the field at Waialae, a precursor
to when the three Japanese stars — all of them having
reached No. 1 in the amateur ranking and Asia-Pacific
Amateur champions — meet again at Augusta National in
April for the Masters.
Nakajima earned his spot by winning the Asia-Pacific
Amateur.
Kanaya, who made the cut at the Masters in 2019 as an
amateur, earned a return trip to Augusta National by
closing with a 66 in the final Japan event of last year to
finish third, enabling him to move into the top 50 in the
world.
Their mentor, Matsuyama, is the Masters champion.
MOTIVATED BY MATSUYAMA. The Monday morning of the first Japan Golf Tour event of the year was no time to be anywhere except in front
of a television. That’s where Takumi Kanaya, left photo, and Keita Nakajima, right photo, could be found in Nagoya last April, each captivated by images
of Hideki Matsuyama winning the Masters to become the first Japanese player in a green jacket. Both consider Matsuyama a major source of motiva-
tion.
“Hopefully, I’ll be a pioneer and many other Japanese European tour.
will follow,” Matsuyama said when he won the Masters.
Nakajima, already with a strong build and a deep
“I’m glad to be able to open the floodgates, hopefully.”
commitment, is finishing up his junior year at Nippon
Matsuyama’s influence began before he became a Sports Science University. He is expected to turn pro after
Masters champion. He has won a pair of World Golf playing the Masters, U.S. Open, and British Open — he is
Championship events, in Ohio and Shanghai, among his exempt as the No. 1 amateur — and the World Amateur
seven PGA Tour victories to go with eight titles on the Team competition in France later this summer.
Japan Golf Tour.
Nakajima prefers to speak English, even as it’s a
He chose to stay at Tohoku Fukushi University all four struggle at times to find the right words, but it reflects the
years to get his degree before turning pro, the path deep commitment he has to golf and where he believes he
Kanaya followed.
is going. In the shower, he is known to practice victory
Kanaya won the Taiheiyo Masters while in college and speeches in English.
said, “Hideki told me to win at professional tournaments. I
He played 10 pro events in Japan last year, including
am so glad that I can report great news.”
his win at the Panasonic Open and a tie for 28th in the
The ultimate destination is play the PGA Tour, just like Zozo Championship, a PGA Tour event that Matsuyama
Matsuyama, and the Sony Open is a good opportunity for won.
Nakajima considers Matsuyama to be as big of a star in
Kanaya. He also is playing Abu Dhabi and Dubai as part
of the Middle East swing through the European tour, with Japan as Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, the
hopes of staying in the top 50 to get in more U.S. events American League MVP and the AP Male Athlete of the
Year.
ahead of the Masters.
“He’s a superstar in Japan,” Nakajima said. “I want to
“When I was there playing as an amateur, I was simply
there for the experience,” Kanaya said. “But this year, catch up to Mr. Hideki and Mr. Takumi, as well.”
The Sony Open, for now, is a good starting point for
playing as a professional, the Masters will be a key
event for me to earn the card for the PGA Tour or them.
Nintendo’s profits hurt by chips crunch
Twin panda cubs debut at Tokyo zoo, woo devoted fans
Continued from page 4
the dearth of computer
chips has hindered output,
complicating planning for
the next fiscal year and
beyond.
The problem has also
slowed the design process
for its next game machine.
Nintendo is developing a
device to follow the Switch.
Despite the setbacks,
more than 100 million
Switch machines have sold
so far globally. Its most
popular games for the
latest period were “Poké-
mon Brilliant Diamond”
and “Pokémon Shining
Pearl,” and new Mario Kart
and Mario Party games.
“Pokémon
Legends
Arceus,” which went on
sale in January, and the
latest Kirby game, set for
release in March, are
expected to boost sales in
the final fiscal quarter,
according to Nintendo.
Nintendo faces stiff
competition both from
longtime rivals such as
Microsoft Corp. and Sony
Corp. and from newcomers
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like Netflix and Google.
Microsoft
recently
announced it is acquiring
Activision Blizzard, the
maker of Candy Crush and
Call of Duty, for $68.7
billion, turning the maker
of the Xbox into one of the
world’s
largest
game
companies.
Sony, which makes the
PlayStation series of con-
soles, is acquiring Bungie
Inc., known for its Halo and
Destiny games, for $3.6
billion. Such acquisitions
add game titles under their
wings and in effect dwarf
Nintendo.
Nintendo expects to post
a 400 billion yen ($3.5
billion) profit on 1.65
trillion yen ($14 billion)
sales for the fiscal year
through March.
Continued from page 3
wood chips on the ground, according to the zoo.
In preparation for their debut, the twins and their
mother were placed in a shared living quarter where they
were exposed to sounds from a radio to get used to noise
and voices from visitors.
The zoo had been closed due to the highly transmissible
omicron variant spreading rapidly across Japan. The zoo
was open only for the twin panda exhibit for the three
days, with 1,080 visitors who won slots in a competitive
lottery granted access each day.
Zoo staff Naoya Ohashi lamented the scaled-down
debut and said he hopes many more people can see the
panda cubs after coronavirus infections slow.
Groups of six people at a time were allowed to enter the
panda quarters, where they could remain for one minute.
The public viewing period was limited to two hours in the
morning.
The rare animals live mainly in the bamboo-covered
mountains in China’s Sichuan area.
China has for decades loaned its unofficial national
mascot in what is known as “panda diplomacy.” All
pandas, including those born abroad, must eventually be
returned to China.
AP Photo/Matt York
AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili
H
The twin cubs’ elder sister, Xiang Xiang, born in the
Ueno Zoo in 2017, is set to be sent back to China in June.
There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China
and about 500 others in captivity in zoos and reserves, the
majority within the country.
Associated Press journalist Chisato
Tanaka contributed to this report.
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