{"id":27605,"date":"2023-02-11T11:35:12","date_gmt":"2023-02-11T10:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/golfcircus.com\/?p=27605"},"modified":"2023-02-11T11:35:12","modified_gmt":"2023-02-11T10:35:12","slug":"takumi-kanaya-beats-the-breeze-to-hold-halfway-lead-in-oman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/golfcircus.com\/en\/takumi-kanaya-beats-the-breeze-to-hold-halfway-lead-in-oman\/","title":{"rendered":"Takumi Kanaya beats the breeze to hold halfway lead in Oman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Takumi Kanaya, one of Japan\u2019s most exciting young prospects, made the most of slightly easier conditions in the morning to take the halfway lead in the US$2 million International Series Oman today.<\/a><\/p>\n

The world\u2019s former number one ranked amateur shot a one-under-par 71 to reach four under par for the tournament, an unassailable lead with the wind getting progressively stronger and blowing the field off course at Al Mouj Golf.<\/p>\n

Another up and coming Japanese player Ryo Hisatsune, who also competed in the morning, is one shot back after carding a 70. They were two of only nine players to break par on a truly testing day.<\/p>\n

Scores soared in the afternoon with wind speeds close to 30 km per hour at times \u2013 in what is the second event of the season on the Asian Tour and the first of 10 International Series tournaments.<\/a><\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Yonggu Shin, who led after the opening round with a 66, came in with a 76 to share third with Chilean Joaquin Niemann, Australia\u2019s Zach Murray and Berry Henson from the United States.<\/p>\n

Niemann showed his class by firing a 70 in the afternoon while Murray and Henson, who also played later, returned rounds of 72 and 73 respectively.<\/p>\n

Kanaya is known for being a precision iron player and had to rely on that and more in order to overcome today\u2019s turbulent conditions. \u201cToday was a tough day, the breeze was very strong. But yeah, I\u2019m feeling great, I shot 71 and that\u2019s good score,\u201d said Kanaya.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like ball control, it\u2019s my favorite, so yeah I have a chance. Two more days so I will do my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old turned professional two years ago after a sensational amateur career, which saw him ranked the number one amateur in the world for 55 weeks, during which time he won the Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters on the Japan Tour. He has since triumphed twice on that Tour as a professional, most noticeably at the prestigious Dunlop Phoenix in 2020.<\/p>\n

He traded four birdies against three bogeys, while Hisatsune made six birdies and four bogeys<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt was so tough even though I had an early start, but for me it\u2019s so windy. I made a lot of clutch putts today and I made birdies on every par three, so I\u2019m very happy with the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy strong point is the driver, like I hit almost every fairway so that makes it easier to hit the second shots. But it was so difficult in this wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yonggu Shin failed to make a birdie today but is still very much in contention. \u201cIt is a totally different course compared to yesterday,\u201d said the Canadian.\u00a0\u201cI knew the wind was gonna pick up, definitely going to be tough, but the pins are also tough today. I mean, greens are firmer than yesterday, obviously I was playing in the morning yesterday, this afternoon the pins were very difficult out there especially with this wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Niemann has put himself in a strong position heading into the weekend and will be one of the favourites with a style of play capable of handling the wind. He said: \u201cIt was a really good round. I played really well. I probably could have actually scored even better but there were a couple of short putts I missed. Very happy though, conditions were tough so can\u2019t complain with two under. The wind was blowing, the greens were firm so I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was paired with Spaniard Sergio Garcia today, a close friend. \u201cYou want to see him [Sergio] playing well, as well as yourself so it is always fun playing with Sergio,\u201d said Niemann.\u00a0\u201cWe have played a lot of practice rounds together but it is nice to have tournament rounds as it is different to practice rounds. He didn\u2019t play his best golf today but Sergio is Sergio, so I need to keep an eye on him over the weekend!\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia made triple on the fourth hole and worked hard to stay in the hunt but shot a 76 and is three off the lead along with Thailand\u2019s Itthipat Buranatanyarat (71), Australian Todd Sinnott (73), American Andy Ogletree (75), and Sadom Kaewkanjana (76) from Thailand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Takumi Kanaya, one of Japan\u2019s most exciting young prospects, made the most of slightly easier conditions in the morning to take the halfway lead in the US$2 million International Series Oman today. The world\u2019s former number one ranked amateur shot a one-under-par 71 to reach four under par for the tournament, an unassailable lead with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,576,53],"tags":[3721,4448,4446],"class_list":["post-27605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-noticias-en","category-showcase","tag-asian-tour-en","tag-takumi-kanaya","tag-the-international-series-oman"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t