Taiga Nagano, fresh off his maiden JGTO victory last week, is keeping his feet firmly on the ground as he readies for his next start at the Shinhan Donghae Open, which tees off in Incheon, South Korea, on Thursday.
Related: Taiga Nagano holds nerve to capture Fujisankei Classic
The Shinhan Donghae Open will be staged for the 41st time this week and is tri-sanctioned by the JGTO, KPGA and Asian Tour. Organisers have increased the purse by US$100,000, and it is the first time the event has been played at the highly-regarded Jack Nicklaus course since 2014.
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The 22-year-old secured his first professional title at the LOPIA Fujisankei Classic to cap what has already been a consistent 2025 season, where he posted four other top-10 finishes prior to his win.
Despite the breakthrough, Nagano insists he wants to remain focused and not get too carried away by his win.
“I got a lot of messages after the win, but my mindset hasn’t really changed. I don’t want to miss the cut. That’s the main thing. Today I played some good golf during the practice round, and I expect the cut to be high this week,” said Nagano.
Nagano feels that the Jack Nicklaus course is a good fit for his game.
“The fairways are wide and I can hit driver a lot, which I like. The greens are soft but very undulating,” he explained. “It feels like a course where players will need to go low,” said Nagano.
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After taking two days off to recover from his triumph, Nagano says he is physically ready, although he still has to work on certain aspects of his game.
“My condition is good. I did take two days off, but my iron distances weren’t matching up as well as I wanted. The key this week will be to keep the ball in the fairway.”
Looking ahead, Nagano is determined to stay patient and not let his breakthrough change his approach.
“Winning hasn’t changed me. I just don’t want to miss the cut,” he added.
