Takumi Kanaya, this year’s top money winner on the Japanese professional men’s golf tour, is in contention for a U.S. PGA Tour card after moving up to third in the penultimate round of the final qualifying tournament on Saturday.
The top five and ties at the PGA Tour Q-School Final Stage will earn automatic promotion to the world’s most prestigious golf tour.
Takumi Kanaya of Japan plays his shot from the seventh tee during the third round of the PGA Tour Q-School Final Stage tournament at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Dec. 14, 2024. (Getty/Kyodo)
Starting the third round at TPC Sawgrass in fourth place, Kanaya shot a 2-under 68 with two birdies and no bogeys to go to 4-under for the tournament.
The 26-year-old Hiroshima Prefecture native heads into the final day two strokes back from the joint leaders, Americans Matthew Riedel and Alistair Docherty, and holds a one-shot lead over four players tied for fourth.
“I’m glad I could shoot a bogey-free round,” Kanaya said. “It would be good if I can play the final day the same as I would in Japan or anywhere else. I want to prepare well and keep playing my own game.”
Kanaya clinched his first JGTO money title earlier this month at the Japan tour’s season-ending Nihon Series JT Cup.
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