Taisei Nagasaki, had he won, would have probably bowed.
He did on Saturday, after his third round at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, where the Japanese 16-year-old had been rolling. After an eight-birdie 65 at Emirates Golf Club, Nagasaki had grabbed a five-shot lead, and if he had stayed atop the leaderboard for just one more round, he’d be playing in next year’s Masters and Open Championship. In Japan, he was still a couple of years away from driving — but dreams of hitting tee balls next to Rory, Scottie and Hideki were close.
Sunday’s final round started rocky, though. Nagasaki bogeyed six of his first 15 holes, before making birdies on 16 and 17. He came to the par-5 18th still up a stroke, over Fifa Laopakdee. But Nagasaki parred the hole, and Laopakdee birdied, and they played on.
On playoff hole one, back on 18, each player birdied. On the second playoff hole, on the driveable, par-4 17th, each player birdied again. You’d expect that type of play from Nagasaki. Earlier this year, he was the co-medalist at the Toyota Junior World Cup in Japan, and he was the runner-up at the Japan Amateur Championship. Last year, he won his age division at the Japan Junior Championship and he finished runner-up in his age division at the Junior World Championships in San Diego.
On Sunday, on the third playoff hole, he was right of the green on 18 in two, but his third shot came up about 50 feet short of the hole, and he finished with a par. And Laopakdee birdied. And he was your winner.
Afterward, on ESPN’s broadcast, Nagasaki became emotional during an interview just off the 18th green. Announcer Steve Burkowski asked him how he’d describe his emotions after Sunday’s play. Through a translator, he said he was disappointed in himself, then wiped away tears with his polo shirt. Burkowski then asked for Nagasaki’s thoughts as he fought back in regulation, and he repeated that he was disappointed.
But Nagasaki also bowed again, too.
On Sunday, amidst Laopakdee winning and Nagasaki falling just short, Nagasaki bent forward at his waist, then put back on his white hat and walked off. In Japanese culture, the act is considered a sign of respect. You may remember Hideki Matsuyama’s caddie, Shota Hayafuji, bowing on the 18th green at Augusta National after Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters.
“I bowed to the course mainly because I was thankful. I wasn’t thinking about doing it and it just happened — like an instinct,” Hayafuji later told GOLF’s Dylan Dethier.
Below is a video of Nagasaki’s moment, captured by the Asia-Pacific Amateur social media team.
On the ESPN broadcast, announcer Rich Lerner said he thought that Nagasaki would soon return. In an interview with reporters, Nagasaki said something similar. Sunday was difficult, he said. But he hoped to bounce back.
“When I think of big stages like the Masters and the Open,” he said, “I still get nervous, and I feel that I’m not yet strong enough mentally.
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