Kobori and Hillier add to New Zealand’s impressive weekend
Kazuma Kobori – file image Australian Golf Media
New Zealand golfing stocks, already boosted by the performances of emerging stars Amelia Garvey and Denzel Ieremia in events in Europe over the weekend, were further improved by Kazuma Kobori’s best finish in a DP World Tour event in Germany last week and the late inclusion of Daniel Hillier into next week’s Open Championship field.
Kobori finished 3rd at the BMW International Open in Munich, his best result in Europe since officially joining the tour late in 2024, following his success on the 2023/2024 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit.
Kobori secured a cheque for €147,000, by some way the biggest in his career to date when finishing four shots behind the winner, Daniel Brown.
Kobori’s final round of 63 included nine birdies and an eagle to go with two bogeys, recording the best round of the day by two shots and securing the 23-year-old his second top ten since joining the DP World Tour eight months ago.
Kobori jumped 29 places to 44th in the Road to Dubai rankings, having now played 17 events on the DP World Tour in his rookie season there.
Daniel Hillier has secured one of the last places available in next week’s Open Championship after the completion of last week’s BMW International Open in Germany, New Zealand’s second-highest-ranked male golfer’s place in the Road to Dubai rankings as at July 6th, enough to get him into his 4th Open Championship field.
