Kazuki Higa’s rise to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit – thanks to back-to-back wins in September – is the result of a new level of commitment that he describes as practicing “like I brush my teeth every day”.

Everyone saw how good the Japanese star is in 2022 when he won the Japan Golf Tour money list – thanks to four victories, including the Shinhan Donghae Open, an event jointly-sanctioned with Asian Tour.

However, still not content with his game, in particular how far he drove the ball, the following year he hit the reset button and ramped things up.

“From 2023, we decided that the distance of my driver shots should be increased,” he said.

“We increased the frequency of weight training and aerobic exercise.”

He also did not sign a driver contract so he can use a club that suits him best and he’s worked on how much he draws and fades shots – all with the aim of gaining yards.

It’s all worked. His average distance with the driver was 284.41 yards until last year, but he is now flying it 297.91 yards.

Kazuki Higa. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

Standing only a 158-centimetres tall he is now punching well above his body weight.

And so here we are the Jakarta International Championship this week at Damai Indah Golf – PIK Course with Higa version 2.0 – with a new body, equipment and shape to his shots.

He won the Shinhan Donghae Open again at the beginning of September, and the following week the Yeangder TPC in Chinese-Taipei. He is the first back-to-back winner on the Asian Tour since American John Catlin claimed titles in Macau and Saudi Arabia early last year.

On current form – and along with Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent, who is in second place on the Merit list – he is the man to catch this year.

His phenomenal success now is the result of a determination from very early on to overcome any short comings.

“When I was in high school, I even heard from my doctor saying that ‘I won’t be tall anymore’,” he said.

“I made it a habit to practice every single day, out of 365 days of the year. I’ve made a lot of effort to overcome my short stature. I made it a habit to practice golf like I brush my teeth every day. I’m trying harder to give hope to more people.

“I swing confidently even when the pressure is high. That’s because I’m confident in my swing and shot.”

He is also known for being an expert frontrunner, with most of 13 victories achieved from the front.

Two of those wins also came on the Asian Development Tour: at the BTI Open in Bangladesh in 2018, and the UMC Championship in Malaysia the following year.

Kazuki Higa pictured with his caddie. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

As well as being as a serial winner, he also has a penchant to travel and win overseas.

No player has won three times in one season on the Asian Tour since Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond in 2019. The Thai star triumphed four times that season enroute to claiming the Merit title.

Higa has a chance to do so this week and also become the first player in the history of the Asian Tour to win three in a row.

Thanks to no shortage of drive and determination, and after wins in Korea and Chinese-Taipei, he may well etch his name into the history books in Indonesia this weekend.