Following in the footsteps of the Iwai Twins! Coach of three sisters talks about the awakening of “youngest son” Kota Iwai

The “Iwai Twins” of Akiai Iwai (20) and Chirei Iwai (20) are creating a whirlwind in the women’s golf world. At the Nichirei Ladies, the twins were able to play together on the last day and in the last group, which they have been wishing for since they turned pro.

Her younger brother, Kota (18), has been attracting attention as well as his older sisters, who have been performing remarkably well. He entered Nihon University this spring from Saitama Sakae High School, the same school as his two sisters, and led the Kanto Amateur Golf Championship held from May to June with a 16-under score. He won the Kanto Amateur Golf Championship for the first time in his career.

Tetsuji Nagai, who has been coaching the three siblings since they were young children, reveals, “Kota started playing golf when he was a little boy.

Kota started playing golf when he was in or around the age of elementary school. He used to come to the driving range with Aki-chan (Akiai) and Chi-chan (Chirei), and I thought, ‘Kota might like golf the most. I got the impression that Kota was practicing his putter the most. He would sometimes look at his reflection in the glass to check his swing as he worked on it.

When Nagai saw him, he thought, “This kid really likes golf. However, like does not equal skill, and it was surprisingly only recently that his scores began to stabilize. Even when he exploded with good scores, they didn’t last. He was a golfer with fluctuating scores. Mr. Nagai continued.

Last winter, my scores suddenly started to stabilize. I didn’t know why, so I asked Kota, ‘Why did you suddenly wake up? I asked Kota, and he said, ‘When I hit a par on, I make at least par. When I started to think simply like that, my scores improved.

Until now, I think I was aiming for birdie when I hit par on the green. Sometimes I aimed too much and ended up three-putting. Now, I think I am able to calmly analyze whether par is the best or a birdie opportunity.

While more and more professionals are coming into the world at a young age, Kota is a big-time player. Like Hideki Matsuyama (31), who has been competing at the forefront of the world for many years, he is very likely to turn pro after further developing his skills in college. Behind this is the gifted education of his father, Yushi, who raised his two older sisters.

My father is the best of the three sisters and brothers, and he is the one who has the most experience in the game. His father probably has the highest expectations for Kota among his three siblings. Ever since he was a little boy, he always said, ‘Kota is the ultimate weapon of the Iwai family’ (laughs).

I think this is the first time since the three Miyazato siblings (Seishi, Yusaku, and Ai) that three siblings are active in the golf world. The father, Yushi, is strict, but the mother is a broad-minded person who can accept him. There is no doubt that their parents are the reason for the current success of the three Iwai siblings.

In March of this year, the three sisters signed a sponsorship contract with Under Armour, even though they are amateurs. The attention of the golf industry as a whole has also increased rapidly. The day is near when the ultimate weapon will take the men’s professional golf world by storm.