The Ras al Khaimah Championship that kicks off this Thursday at the Al Hamra Golf Club could be described as the first ‘normal’ event of the DP World Tour in 2024. Yes, two have already been held, but it’s no secret that they are special events, the Dubai Invitational, without cut, ProAm and reduced to 60 players, and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a gentleman’s Rolex Series with a top-notch participation. Neither in one nor the other, for example, did golfers from the School, most of the Challenge Tour or the best players from the allied circuits: Japan, Australia, South Africa, China or India. Thus, this week there are several very interesting names making their debut.
For example, in Ras al Khaimah we will be able to see the Swedish Jonas Blixt or the South Korean Sung Kang, winners of the PGA Tour who have entered through category 12 (the top five between position 126 and 200 of the FedEx Cup), and David Micheluzzi (four victories in Australasia between 2022 and 2023). However, there is one name that stands out above all in this category of debutants with a European Circuit card. We are talking about the Japanese Keita Nakajima. Another story. His service record endorses him.
Nakajima is one of the most potent future projects in world golf. He is 23 years old and both his curriculum as an amateur and his performances in his first year and a half as a professional, endorse him. He was Number One in the world amateur for 87 weeks. He set a new absolute record for permanence at the top, surpassing a certain Jon Rahm, who was there for 60 weeks. In addition, he won a Japan Tour tournament while still an amateur (Panasonic Open) and was the first golfer to be decorated for two years with the McCormack medal, which adorns the best amateur player in the world.
As a professional, his career is equally impressive, both for the good results and for the speed in achieving them. His debut as a pro took place at the ZOZO Championship of the PGA Tour in the autumn of 2022 and he finished in twelfth place. Last year was the first in which he had a full card of the Japan Tour and his dominance of the circuit was extraordinary. He won the Order of Merit by a landslide, surpassing one million dollars in earnings. He added three victories, five second places, ten top 3, thirteen top 5 and 17 top 10 in 23 tournaments. Beastly.
As you can see, this boy has earned the right to be followed closely. He is set to be one of the revelations of the year on the DP World Tour. In his only appearance in a European circuit tournament, the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan in 2023 (co-sanctioned tournament he entered through the Japan Tour) he finished in twelfth place. Now in Ras al Khaimah he will make his debut as a player of the European Circuit and in an exclusive tournament of the DP World. Don’t lose sight of him.
It is true that, for the moment, the appointments outside of Japan have choked him a bit. He has played four Majors (Open Championship 2022 and 2023, Masters 2022 and US Open 2022) and has missed the cut in all of them. He has also played the Sony Open, Farmers Insurance Open and Genesis Invitational of the PGA Tour in 2023 and only made the cut in the Sony to finish in a discreet 57th place. Surely for him this week is also a challenge to show that he can do just as well when he plays with his passport in his pocket.
By the way, Nakajima will debut alongside a Spaniard, Adrián Otaegui, and the Englishman Daniel Brown. As you can see, two champions of the DP World Tour. They haven’t put him in just any match. And one last detail for nostalgics. He was born in Saitama, a historic city for Spanish sport, as it was there that Spain won its first Basketball World Cup in 2006. There was born the famous BA-LON-CES-TO of Pepu Hernández, then national coach.
