Tiger Woods Is a ‘Superstar’ for Keita Nakajima; Hero Indian Open Champ Gets Candid Over His Biggest Inspiration

On the last day of March, the curtains finally drew on the Hero Indian Open. Many memorable moments were created at the event at the DLF Golf and Country Club, whether it be the return of Anirban Lahiri, the weather trouble on the second day, or the home favorite, Veer Ahlawat, making an eagle on the 18th hole on the final day. Lastly, it was Keita Nakajima, the 23-year-old from Japan, who stole the show as he secured his maiden victory on the DP World Tour and bagged $382,500 in prize money.

“I was just born north of Tokyo.” Nakajima took everybody down memory lane during the post-match press release and revealed how his golfing journey began. The 23-year-old shared that his father was an ardent lover of the game, citing the fond memories he shared with his father at the driving range while growing up. Next came the golfer, whom the Japanese national grew up watching on TV. That, was none other than Tiger Woods. Nakajima also expressed how he resonated with the style of play of the 15-time major winner, and Mr.T surely found a fan in the Hero Indian Open Champ as Nakajima had more appreciative words for Woods.

Keita Nakajima is a huge Tiger Woods fan

During the post-match press conference of the 2024 HIO, Nakajima exclusively answered EssentiallySports, wherein he further gave a detailed insight into his thoughts regarding the 82-time PGA Tour winner. When asked about what one Tiger-esque quality he would like to incorporate in his own gameplay, the 2024 Hero Indian Open winner, after pondering on the question a little, answered with two simple words and said, “Iron striking.”

Following it up with the question of why he chose Tiger Woods as his inspiration and what he likes about Mr. T, the 23-year-old not only revealed the reason, then he went on to praise Mr.T and also added another PGA Tour player in the mix and iterated, “Like you know, he’s a superstar in the world, right, that’s my goal, like Tiger Woods and Collin Morikawa, they are superstars in the world.”

It’s clear that Keita Nakajima would like to follow the likes of Woods and Morikawa. Finally, when asked whether the PGA Tour would be the next step in his golf career, Nakajima politely smiled and answered, “Hope so yeah!” The pro had a rather impressive run on the Gary Player course, with a few hiccups along the way, especially on a particular hole.

Nakajima struggled with the 14th hole at the Hero Indian Open

Keita Nakajima started his first round on the DLF Golf Course & Country Club with six birdies on the front nine and went on to score two more on the back nine with a bogey on the 14th hole, par 4. On the second day, the Japanese national carded eight birdies. Although the count of bogeys on his scorecard went up as he made three consecutive bogeys from the 14th hole to the 16th hole, he ended the round with an eagle. On the moving day, Nakajima registered six birdies and two bogeys, one of which once again came at the not-so-Nakajima-friendly 14th hole.

Nakajima struggled a bit on the final day, opening his round with a birdie. The golfer carded a total of five birdies and four bogeys, but that’s not all; he ended up with a double bogey on the very same 14th hole. It makes one curious about what exactly went wrong at the hole. At the post-match presser, someone posed the same question to Nakajima. He first chuckled and went on to recall the scores, which he carded on that hole, and humorously stated, “I don’t like number four things, you know.”

He also listed the wind blowing from the right side as one of the reasons for his faulty play on the 14th. However, it was factor four that really did not sit well with the pro, as he discussed the same with his caddie as well. Even though he ended his final round with one over par, it was Keita Nakajima who took the trophy home! 

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