Kazuma Kobori’s improved driving helps in Ireland
Kazuma Kobori – file image Australian Golf Media
New Zealand’s Kazuma Kobori is in a share of 5th place at the halfway stage of the US$6 million Amgen Irish Open at the Trump International Links in Doonbeg, Ireland, the 24-year-old’s second round of 67, leaving him six shots behind the former winner, Shane Lowry, but just three shots out of second place.
Kobori, who is currently 76th in the Race to Dubai rankings, comes off an improved 9th-place finish at the recent British Masters and is pushing for a place in the top 50 in the Race to Dubai to earn a place in the DP World Tour Championship in November, the field for which he made in his rookie season in 2025.
Kobori began the day with a bogey but followed up immediately with three consecutive birdies and added one further birdie at the 10th and given his early tee time, was vying for the lead at that stage.
Lowry was out two hours after Kobori, and when he added an amazing round of 62, he was three ahead, and it would be he that the field will chase over the final 36 holes.
Daniel Hillier, who was forced to withdraw from last week’s Omega European Masters, added a second consecutive 69 to be in a share of 20th as he looks to consolidate his position inside the top 10 recipients of a PGA Tour card for 2027, the leading 10 in the Race to Dubai rankings and not otherwise exempt on the PGA Tour earn the right to play there next season.
Victorian David Micheluzzi was the only other Australasian to make the cut, finishing in a share of 47th heading into the weekend.
Kobori leads the driving accuracy statistics on the DP World Tour but has struggled a little form the tee of late although he feels he may have it worked out.
“Actually been battling a bit like maybe the last month or so, but I think we figured out what’s going wrong and, yeah, drove it well today,” said the man from Canterbury in New Zealand’s South Island.
“Just experimenting with the driver heads and stuff like that. I had a bit of a hard time adapting to the new model that Titleist brought out. But I’ve done a bit of experimenting, and I think we got to a good setup. With the driver, you want to get to a spot where you can just swing it and not really steer it all too much. So, yeah, I think we got to that point.
“ Yeah, hopefully keeping that going would be good.”
