Tsuneyuki Nakajima


Tsuneyuki "Tommy" Nakajima is a Japanese professional golfer.
Nakajima was born in Gunma. He turned professional in 1975. He has won 48 events on the Japan Golf Tour, ranking third on the most Japan Golf Tour wins list. He also was the leading money winner four times in five years: 1982, 1983, 1985 and 1986. He is second on the career money list.
Nakajima featured in the top 5 of the Official World Golf Rankings and was ranked in the top-10 for 85 weeks from their debut in 1986 to 1987. He ranked as high as fifth on its predecessor McCormack's World Golf Rankings.
At the 1978 Masters Tournament, Nakajima made a 13 on the par-5 13th hole. After hitting his fourth shot into Rae's Creek, Nakajima elected to play the ball rather than take a drop. He popped the ball straight up and it landed on his foot, causing a two-stroke penalty. When he handed the club to his caddie, it slipped out of his hand and fell into the creek, incurring another two-stroke penalty. He chipped over the green, chipped back on and two-putted for the highest single-hole score in the history of the tournament.
Also in 1978, Nakajima was in contention at the Open Championship on the third day at St Andrews until he putted into - and then took four attempts to escape from - the Road Hole bunker at the 17th for a quintuple bogey, which led the British tabloids to christen that bunker, for a while, "the Sands of Nakajima". Nakajima's best finish in a major was third at the 1988 PGA Championship.
He would also feature in an epic match at the 1982 Suntory World Match Play Championship at Wentworth when he lost to Sandy Lyle only after an extended playoff.

Amateur wins

this list may be incomplete

Japan Golf Tour wins (48)

*Note: The 1986 Mizuno Open was shortened to 63 holes due to poor weather.
Japan Golf Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11978Japan PGA Championship Fujio KobayashiLost to birdie on first extra hole
21981Golf Digest Tournament Toyotake Nakao
31982Fujisankei Classic Graham MarshWon with par on first extra hole
41983JPGA East-West Tournament Saburo Fujiki
51985Taiheiyo Club Masters David GrahamWon with birdie on first extra hole
61986Golf Digest Tournament David IshiiWon with par on fifth extra hole
71990Golf Nippon Series Hitachi Cup Naomichi OzakiLost to birdie on third extra hole
81991Japan Open Golf Championship Noboru SugaiWon with par on first extra hole
91992Japan PGA Championship Masahiro KuramotoLost to par on second extra hole
101994Dydo Shizuoka Open Tōru NakamuraWon with par on first extra hole
111994Tsuruya Open Tsutomu HigaWon with par on second extra hole
122002JCB Classic Sendai Toru SuzukiLost to par on second extra hole
132004JCB Classic Sendai Takashi Kamiyama, Tomohiro KondoKamiyama won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (3)

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances