The defending New Zealand Open champion had seven of New Zealand’s finest delicacies for dinner earlier this week, and Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa appears to be a fan as well.
But the real buzz for Hataji yesterday was seeing his name finally engraved on the Brodie Breeze Trophy at Millbrook.
Hataji said he was not expecting to win last year’s tournament, but it was amazing to record his maiden victory.
It set him up well for the 2024 season, returning home to Japan with the Vantelin Tokai Classic and the Kansai Open.
Hataji is enjoying being back in New Zealand and played a practice round with Ishikawa yesterday, where the latter gave the newcomer "some tips, but not all".
Ishikawa had been impressed by the Millbrook courses so far, commenting the greens were slightly firmer which would take some getting used to.
Hataji’s win has inspired a larger Japanese field at the Open this year, with 20 players from Japan testing their hand in Arrowtown.
Hataji, who was the first Asian player to win the Open, said lots of his friends back home wanted to learn more about the tournament off the back of his win.
He has been training hard during the off season and made some adjustments to his swing over the past month.
He wanted to continue improving his swing and focus on that next challenge ahead.
Despite speaking through a translator, Hataji still found a way to have a laugh.
He spent six months trying to learn English, but found it too hard and eventually gave up.
