Kazuma Kobori – image Australian Golf Media
Four months ago 22-year-old New Zealander Kazuma Kobori set out on a professional career with the benefit of an amazing 12 months of amateur golf behind him but with the uncertainty of life in the paid ranks ahead of him.
Now, as the 2023/2024 PGA Tour of Australasia’s season draws to a close, the young man from Rangiora north of Christchurch has sealed his place atop the Order of Merit and in doing so has a DP World Tour card to his name for the 2025 season.
With just this week’s National Tournament at the National Golf Club’s Moonah Course on the Mornington Peninsula remaining on the schedule, his number one position is secure and, with it, not only a DP World Tour card for next season but a start at the Open Championship in July.
Kobori earned his rights to the PGA Tour of Australasia during a stellar 2023 in which he became the Australian Amateur Champion, the Western Amateur Champion (US) led the Individual honours at the Eisenhower Trophy and gained medallist honours at the Australasian Tour School.
In 2019, at the age of just 17 Kobori won the New Zealand PGA Championship as part of the Australasian Tour and so success in professional events is not new to him but his domination of the PGA Tour of Australasia in the first few weeks of 2024 has been quite a revelation.
Kobori won three of five events in a stretch during January and February which moved him into second place behind Min Woo Lee in the standings but with Lee unable to play the minimum four required events, the door was open for Kobori to take the title.
The one disappointment of his professional career to date was perhaps missing the cut in his national open in Queenstown two weeks ago but with the very important certainty of a tour on which to play ahead of him and plenty of invitations to other events beforehand, his immediate future appears assured.
Two further DP World Tour cards are up for grabs at this week’s event with the leading three players all earning the right to play in Europe next season so beyond Kobori there are many permutations likely at this week’s event that could see any two of five others with DP World Tour status next season.
