Takumi Kanaya. (Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese golfer Takumi Kanaya has secured a place at the 86th edition of The Masters to be played April 7-10, 2022, at Augusta National Golf Club in the United States.

       Kanaya made the top 50 in the final Official World Golf Ranking of the year released on Sunday, joining countrymen Hideki Matsuyama, winner of the 85th Masters, and Keita Nakajima, winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, in the field for the first major of 2022.

       It is the second time Kanaya has gained entry to golf's most prestigious major. The 23-year-old made his Masters debut in 2019 when he was a student at Tohoku Fukushi University playing as an amateur.

       "It won't hit me as reality until I receive the invitation card, but I'm glad to have achieved one of my goals of ranking inside the top 50 in the world," Kanaya said through his management company.

       The Masters is the first of four men's majors on the golfing calendar. Along with the championship, the winner is given a green jacket, which has become a signature staple of the tournament.

       Matsuyama is the latest to wear the green jacket, becoming the first male golfer from Japan to win a major championship this spring.

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