Kazuki Higa (Japanese: 比嘉一貴, born 23 April 1995) is a Japanese professional golfer. He has won six times on the Japan Golf Tour, as well as topping the money list in 2022.
| Kazuki Higa | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||
| Born | 23 April 1995 Okinawa, Japan | ||||
| Height | 158 cm (5 ft 2 in) | ||||
| Weight | 70 kg (154 lb) | ||||
| Sporting nationality |  Japan | ||||
| Career | |||||
| College | Tohoku Fukushi University | ||||
| Turned professional | 2017 | ||||
| Current tour(s) | Japan Golf Tour | ||||
| Former tour(s) | European Tour Japan Challenge Tour Asian Development Tour | ||||
| Professional wins | 10 | ||||
| Highest ranking | 67 (8 January 2023)[1] (as of 10 November 2024) | ||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||
| Japan Golf Tour | 6 | ||||
| Asian Tour | 1 | ||||
| Other | 4 | ||||
| Best results in major championships | |||||
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 2023 | ||||
| PGA Championship | 76th: 2023 | ||||
| U.S. Open | DNP | ||||
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2022, 2023 | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
| |||||
Professional career
editHiga attended Tohoku Fukushi University and turned professional in late 2017.[2] Since turning professional, he has played primarily on the Japan Golf Tour. His first win was at the 2019 RIZAP KBC Augusta. He won again in 2021 at the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup.[3]
2022: Four wins and money list title
editHiga started off the season by winning the Kansai Open Golf Championship in April. He also won the BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup in June. In September, Higa won the Shinhan Donghae Open, an event also sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korean Tour. He shot a final-round 65 to win by two shots.[4] He claimed his fourth victory of the season at the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in November. He shot a final round 64 to win by three shots ahead of Mito Pereira.[5] Higa ended the 2022 season as the Japan Golf Tour money list winner and earned status to play on the 2023 European Tour.[6]
Amateur wins
edit- 2017 Neighbors Trophy Team Championship (individual winner), Tohoku Amateur Championship, Kanto Collegiate Championship
Source:[7]
Professional wins (10)
editJapan Golf Tour wins (6)
edit| Legend |
|---|
| Japan majors (1) |
| Other Japan Golf Tour (5) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Sep 2019 | RIZAP KBC Augusta | −26 (66-63-67-66=262) | 5 strokes | Rikuya Hoshino
|
| 2 | 22 Aug 2021 | Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup | −20 (68-65-67-68=268) | 2 strokes | Kunihiro Kamii
|
| 3 | 17 Apr 2022 | Kansai Open Golf Championship | −14 (65-67-68-70=270) | 1 stroke | Rikuya Hoshino
|
| 4 | 5 Jun 2022 | BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup | −12 (69-71-65-67=272) | 1 stroke | Tomoharu Otsuki
|
| 5 | 11 Sep 2022 | Shinhan Donghae Open1 | −20 (66-63-70-65=264) | 2 strokes |  Cho Min-gyu,  Tirawat Kaewsiribandit, Shin Yong-gu
|
| 6 | 20 Nov 2022 | Dunlop Phoenix Tournament | −21 (69-65-65-64=263) | 3 strokes |  Mito Pereira
|
1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korean Tour
Japan Challenge Tour wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 Jun 2018 | Minami Akita CC Michinoku Challenge | −12 (66-64=130)* | 2 strokes | Yoshikazu Haku, Takahiro Hataji, Konosuke Nakazato
|
*Note: The 2018 Minami Akita CC Michinoku Challenge was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.
Asian Development Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 Apr 2018 | BTI Open1 | −17 (62-70-69-70=271) | 3 strokes |  Zamal Hossain
|
| 2 | 16 Mar 2019 | UMW Championship2 | −22 (68-65-68-65=266) | 6 strokes | Shintaro Kobayashi, Naoki Sekito
|
1Co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India
2Co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf of Malaysia Tour
Other wins (1)
edit- 2018 Kyusyu Open
Results in major championships
edit| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | 76 | |
| U.S. Open | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
Team appearances
editAmateur
- Eisenhower Trophy (representing Japan): 2016
- Neighbors Trophy Team Championship (representing Japan): 2013, 2015, 2017 (winners)
References
edit- ^ "Week 1 2023 Ending 8 Jan 2023" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
- ^ "Kazuki Higa – Profile". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Kazuki Higa – Tour Career Record". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ Kaur, Malkeet (12 September 2022). "Japan's Kazuki Higa triumphs at Shinhan Donghae Open". Par Golf. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ Nosferatu [@VC606] (20 November 2022). "Big congrats to the not so big Kazuki Higa" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 January 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Top-3 Japan Tour Order of Merit finishers to receive DP World Tour membership". News Nine. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ "Kazuki Higa". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
External links
edit- Kazuki Higa at the Japan Golf Tour official site
- Kazuki Higa at the PGA Tour official site
- Kazuki Higa at the European Tour official site
- Kazuki Higa at the Official World Golf Ranking official site