Ken Tanigawa

Ken Tanigawa (born December 26, 1967) is an American professional golfer.

Ken Tanigawa
Personal information
Born	(1967-12-26) December 26, 1967 (age 57) Kobe, Japan
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Scottsdale, Arizona
Career
College	University of California, Los Angeles
Turned professional	1990,[a] 2018
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)	Japan Golf Tour Nationwide Tour Gateway Tour
Professional wins	5
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour Champions	3
Other	2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT: 2020
U.S. Open	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Champions Rookie of the Year 2018

Early life and amateur career

Tanigawa was born in Kobe, Japan.^[1] He played college golf at UCLA. In 1990, he graduated.^[1]

Professional career

In 1990, Tanigawa turned professional.^[1] In 1991, he played on the Ben Hogan Tour and again in 2003. His best finish was T-41 at the 2003 Price Cutter Charity Championship. He played on the Japan Golf Tour in 1996 and 1997 with a best finish of T-9 at the 1996 Mitsubishi Galant Tournament.

Re-instated amateur career

Tanigawa quit playing professionally and was re-instated as an amateur.^[2][3] He won a number of amateur tournaments in Arizona in the mid-2010s.^[4][5]

Second professional career

Tanigawa qualified for the 2018 PGA Tour Champions via qualifying school, competing as an amateur and turning professional again in 2018.^[2] He won on the tour at the PURE Insurance Championship in September 2018.^[3]

In January 2019, Tanigawa was awarded the 2018 PGA Tour Champions Rookie of the Year award.^[6]

On May 26, 2019, Tanigawa won a senior major tournament, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. Tanigawa came from three strokes behind in the final round and holed a 10-foot par putt on the 72nd hole to edge out Scott McCarron and claim victory by a single stroke.^[7]

Awards and honors

In 2018, PGA Tour Champions Rookie of the Year

Amateur wins

• 2014 Arizona Mid-Amateur
• 2015 Arizona Amateur, Arizona Mid-Amateur
• 2017 Arizona Amateur

Source:^[5]

Professional wins (5)

Gateway Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	Aug 1, 2002	Learning 2000 Classic	66-68-68=202	−14	2 strokes	Mike Louden, Rob Rashell

Other wins (1)

• 2000 Ohio Open

PGA Tour Champions wins (3)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour Champions (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 29, 2018	PURE Insurance Championship	67-66-72=205	−10	1 stroke	Marco Dawson, Kirk Triplett
2	May 26, 2019	KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship	67-74-66-70=277	−3	1 stroke	Scott McCarron
3	Aug 18, 2024	Rogers Charity Classic	68-61-64=193	−17	2 strokes	Richard Green

Results in major championships

Tournament	2020
PGA Championship	CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut
Note: Tanigawa only played in the PGA Championship.

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2019	KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship	3 shot deficit	−3 (67-74-66-70=277)	1 stroke	Scott McCarron

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order

Tournament	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
The Tradition		T57	NT	T29	T18		T60	T67
Senior PGA Championship	T23	1	NT	CUT	CUT	T20	T43	T51
Senior Players Championship	T20	T63	T33	T37	49	T53	T70	T18
U.S. Senior Open	T40	T33	NT	CUT	T18	T42	CUT	CUT
The Senior Open Championship		T76	NT	T24	CUT	T57	T64	T47

  Win

  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Notes

1. Amateur status reinstated in 2010.