Kensei Hirata

Started playing golf at age 7.
Turned professional in December 2021 after winning the Japan collegiate championship by one shot over Taiga Semikawa, who will also be at Royal Liverpool after becoming the first amateur to win the Japan Open since its inaugural staging in 1927.
2022 Japan PGA Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 20; In Money - 13; Top-10 Finishes - 1; Scoring Average - 71.53 (rank 39th); Money - Yen15,139,070 ($108,031) (rank 58th); Best Finish - T-7th at the Japan Golf Tour Championship.
Ranked 739th in the world when he teed off in May's Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open, Hirata grabbed one of the four Royal Liverpool places on offer through the Qualifying Series in superb fashion, beating Keita Nakajima at the third hole of a playoff to make him the Japan Tour's 400th first-time winner. He had been eight shots off the lead at the halfway stage and still five adrift after 54 holes but closed with rounds of 67 and 66. The 22-year-old's previous best performance on the circuit was a T-6th at the Kansai Open in April.

2023 Japan Tour Record
Tournament Place Score To Par 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Money Yen
Token Homemate Cup Cut 141 -1 72 69
Kansai Open T-6 274 -10 73 68 63 70 $18,934 Yen2,653,333
The Crowns Cut 145 +5 77 68
Golf Partner Pro-Am Cut 141 +1 70 71
Gateway To The Open Mizuno Win 271 -17 67 71 67 66 $114,175 Yen16,000,000
BMW Japan Golf Championship T-43 288 +4 71 67 79 71 $4,389 Yen615,000
ASO Ilzuka Challenged 5 269 -19 69 66 65 69 $28,544 Yen4,000,000
Hana Bank Invitational T-26 281 -11 66 75 71 69 $5,231 Yen733,090
Japan Players Championship Cut 143 -1 74 69
Shigeo Nagashima Invit. Cut 1477 +3 73 74

Hirata has won yen24,001,423 ($171,272) on the Japan Golf Tour in 2023 and is 8th on the money list