Tokyo, Japan: Takumi Kanaya could not be accused of resting on his laurels. Thanks to a third-place finish in last week’s season-ending Golf Nippon Series JT Cup, Kanaya was crowned the Japan Golf Tour’s 2024 Money Ranking champion.

But 26-year-old Kanaya was unable to be present at yesterday's JGTO Awards ceremony to receive the plaudits of his peers.

Instead of basking in his glory, the 2018 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner was already focused on the next phase of his career.

While his Japan Golf Tour rivals were preparing to wind down, Kanaya was on a flight to the United States where he’ll be participating in the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School this week.

Speaking to the media before he departed for America, Kanaya said: “Winning the Money Ranking title means a lot to me as this is the most prestigious honour that every player aims to win each year.

“I put in a lot of hard work and focused on improving every aspect of my game every day. I’m pleased it has paid off.”

Kanaya, named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the season, capped an incredible season by overhauling Kensei Hirata on the final day to claim his first money ranking title. Kanaya finished the season with total earnings of ¥119,551,222.

Kanaya entered the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup trailing Hirata by about ¥2.9 million in the money standings. But a closing three-under-par 67 was good enough for him to pip Hirata to the title after the latter, who has won four times this season, had to settle for 17th place.

There were other successes for Kanaya at the awards ceremony. As well as topping the Mercedes-Benz Total Point Ranking, Kanaya also picked up four other awards – Scoring Average, Par or Better, Greens in Regulation and Total Driving.