Satoshi Kodaira

The son of a teaching professional, Kodaira started playing golf at 10 years old. He achieved his dream of succeeding on the PGA Tour when he defeated Si Woo Kim in a playoff to win the 2018 RBC Heritage. Kodaira became the first player without PGA Tour status to win a regular PGA Tour event since Arjun Atwal won the 2010 Wyndham Championship. With the victory, Kodaira immediately took advantage of full-time PGA Tour member status and its two-season exemption.
Kodaira was born in Tokyo and turned professional in 2010. World Golf Hall of Famer Jumbo Ozaki, who is considered Japan's version of Arnold Palmer because of his charisma and popularity, has mentored him. Ozaki won more than 90 times on the Japan Tour. Kodaira first reached the world's top-100 ranking in December 2016 and is now in the top 30. He won his first professional title in 2012 at the PGA JGTO challenge Cup II in Boso, Japan. His second professional title was a big one, coming at the 2013 Japan Golf Tour Championship, where he defeated Kiradech Aphibarnrat by one shot. That tournament is one of the Japan Golf Tour's majors. He won another of the tour's majors in 2015 at the Japan Open. Has won six times on the Japan Golf Tour, with his last in November 2017. Won over 451,748,967 yen (about $4,062,125) on the Japan Golf Tour before his victory at the RBC Heritage. Another big day in Kodaira's life came in March 2017 when he married Miho Koga. She used to play on the Japanese LPGA, winning 12 titles, including a pair of their major championships. She walked away from professional golf in 2011 due to a nagging wrist problem. She was Kodaira's caddie during the Par-3 Contest at the 2018 Masters.
2011 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 13; In Money - 8; Top-10 Finishes - 1; Scoring Average - 71.42 (Rank 39th); Money - Yen$11,265,150 (Rank 78th); Best Finish - T-10th, Japan Open.
2012 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 17; In Money - 10; Top-10 Finishes - 0; Scoring Average - 71.98 (Rank 66th); Money - Yen$8,182,046 (Rank 87th); Best Finish - T-19th, Mynavi ABC Championship.
2013 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 22; In Money - 20; Top-10 Finishes - 5; Scoring Average - 71.26 (Rank T-30th); Money -Yen$62,034,804 ($553,472) (Rank 12th); Best Finish - Winner, Japan Golf Tour Shishido Hills.
2014 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 22; In Money - 11; Top-10 Finishes - 4; Scoring Average - 71.70 (Rank 50th); Money - Yen$47,914,628 ($427,492) (Rank 21st); Best Finish - 1st, Fukushima Open.
2015 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 21; In Money - 15; Top-10 Finishes - 5; Scoring Average - 71.20 (Rank T-22nd); Money Yen$66,776,437 ($595,777) (Rank 9th); Best Finish - 1st, Japan Open Golf Championship.
2016 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 24; In Money - 21; Top-10 Finishes - 7; Scoring Average - 71.79 (Rank 11th); Money - Yen$83,674,671 ($746,542) (Rank 6th); Best Finish - 1st, Bridgestone Open.
2017 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 24; In Money - 23; Top-10 Finishes - 14; Scoring Average - 70.02 (Rank 1st); Money - Yen$154,283,933 ($1,376,515) (Rank 2nd); Best Finish - 1st, Top Cup Tokai Classic & Visa Taiheiyo Masters.
2018 Notes: Ended 2017 51st in the Official World Golf Ranking. On the strength of his two runner-up wins on the Japan Golf Tour, he was able to climb to 35th with starts at the WGC-Mexico Championship (54th) and WGC-Dell Match Play (T-59th). He finished 46th in the rankings to earn a spot at the 2018 Masters. Finished T-28th at Augusta National, then won the RBC Heritage the next week, defeating Si Woo Kim in a playoff. With the win, he was able to secure membership on the PGA Tour. Played 18 events on the PGA Tour, making eight cuts with one top-10 finish. Ended the year 94th in the FedExCup standings.
2018 Japan Golf Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 6; In Money - 5; Top-10 Finishes - 3; Scoring Average - 70.02 (Rank 1st); Money - Yen$59,050,964 ($526,850) (Rank 2nd); Best Finish - 1st, Golf Nippon Series JT Cup.
2019 Notes: Best finish was T-24th at the WGC-Dell Match Play, where he won a match, halved another and lost to Francesco Molinari, the group winner.