Kazuki Higa

Kazuki Higa
Personal information
Born (1995-04-23) 23 April 1995 (age 29)
Okinawa, Japan
Height158 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Weight70 kg (154 lb)
Sporting nationality Japan
Career
CollegeTohoku Fukushi University
Turned professional2017
Current tour(s)Japan Golf Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Japan Challenge Tour
Asian Development Tour
Professional wins10
Highest ranking67 (8 January 2023)[1]
(as of 24 November 2024)
Number of wins by tour
Japan Golf Tour6
Asian Tour1
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 2023
PGA Championship76th: 2023
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2022, 2023
Achievements and awards
Japan Golf Tour
money list winner		2022
Japan Golf Tour
Most Valuable Player		2022
Medal record
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2015 Gwangju Men's individual
Gold medal – first place 2015 Gwangju Men's team
Silver medal – second place 2017 Taipei Men's individual
Gold medal – first place 2017 Taipei Men's team

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.

Professional career

Higa 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

Higa 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

  • 2017 Neighbors Trophy Team Championship (individual winner), Tohoku Amateur Championship, Kanto Collegiate Championship

Source:[7]

Professional wins (10)

Japan Golf Tour wins (6)

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 Japan Rikuya Hoshino
2 22 Aug 2021 Shigeo Nagashima Invitational Sega Sammy Cup −20 (68-65-67-68=268) 2 strokes Japan Kunihiro Kamii
3 17 Apr 2022 Kansai Open Golf Championship −14 (65-67-68-70=270) 1 stroke Japan Rikuya Hoshino
4 5 Jun 2022 BMW Japan Golf Tour Championship Mori Building Cup −12 (69-71-65-67=272) 1 stroke Japan Tomoharu Otsuki
5 11 Sep 2022 Shinhan Donghae Open1 −20 (66-63-70-65=264) 2 strokes South Korea Cho Min-gyu, Thailand Tirawat Kaewsiribandit,
Canada Shin Yong-gu
6 20 Nov 2022 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament −21 (69-65-65-64=263) 3 strokes Chile Mito Pereira

1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Korean Tour

Japan Challenge Tour wins (1)

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 Japan Yoshikazu Haku, Japan Takahiro Hataji,
Japan Konosuke Nakazato

*Note: The 2018 Minami Akita CC Michinoku Challenge was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.

Asian Development Tour wins (2)

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 Bangladesh Zamal Hossain
2 16 Mar 2019 UMW Championship2 −22 (68-65-68-65=266) 6 strokes Japan Shintaro Kobayashi, Japan Naoki Sekito

1Co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf Tour of India
2Co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf of Malaysia Tour

Other wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament 2022 2023
Masters Tournament CUT
PGA Championship 76
U.S. Open
The Open Championship CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

Team appearances

Amateur

  • Eisenhower Trophy (representing Japan): 2016
  • Neighbors Trophy Team Championship (representing Japan): 2013, 2015, 2017 (winners)

References

  1. ^ "Week 1 2023 Ending 8 Jan 2023" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Kazuki Higa – Profile". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Kazuki Higa – Tour Career Record". Japan Golf Tour Organization. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  4. ^ Kaur, Malkeet (12 September 2022). "Japan's Kazuki Higa triumphs at Shinhan Donghae Open". Par Golf. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  5. ^ Nosferatu [@VC606] (20 November 2022). "Big congrats to the not so big Kazuki Higa" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 January 2023 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Top-3 Japan Tour Order of Merit finishers to receive DP World Tour membership". News Nine. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Kazuki Higa". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 27 June 2022.