Kazuma Kobori | |||||
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Personal information | |||||
Born | Karuizawa, Japan | 25 October 2001||||
Sporting nationality | New Zealand | ||||
Residence | Rangiora, New Zealand | ||||
Career | |||||
Turned professional | 2023 | ||||
Current tour(s) | PGA Tour of Australasia | ||||
Former tour(s) | Charles Tour | ||||
Professional wins | 5 | ||||
Number of wins by tour | |||||
PGA Tour of Australasia | 4 | ||||
Other | 1 | ||||
Best results in major championships | |||||
Masters Tournament | DNP | ||||
PGA Championship | CUT: 2024 | ||||
U.S. Open | DNP | ||||
The Open Championship | DNP | ||||
Achievements and awards | |||||
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Kazuma Kobori (born 25 October 2001) is a New Zealand professional golfer.[1] He won the 2019 New Zealand PGA Championship as an amateur, as well as the individual title at the 2023 Eisenhower Trophy.[2]
In 2019, Kobori was runner-up at the Australian Boys' Amateur. He won the SEC NZ PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia and was runner-up at the Carrus Open on the Charles Tour.[3]
In 2023, Kobori cemented his position as New Zealand's top male amateur golfer. He won the Australian Amateur two strokes ahead of Arron Edwards-Hill of England.[4] He also won the Western Amateur at North Shore Country Club near Chicago, an Elite Amateur Series championship,[5] and captured the individual honors at the Eisenhower Trophy in Abu Dhabi. He was only the second New Zealander to win the individual title following Phil Tataurangi in 1992.[6] He claimed an early lead at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and ultimately finished 6th.[7]
Kobori started in five events on the 2023 PGA Tour of Australasia as an amateur and recorded three top-10s, including a tie for 6th at the New Zealand Open. He was awarded the Bledisloe Cup as the leading amateur.[8] He turned professional after finishing sixth at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Melbourne.[9]
In November 2023, Kobori made his professional debut at the Queensland PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia where he finished in a tie for 9th, 2 strokes behind winner Phoenix Campbell. At the start of 2024, he won three consecutive WebEx Players Series tournaments.[10]
Kobori was born in Karuizawa, Japan, and moved to Canterbury, New Zealand, with his family when he was six. His older sister, Momoka, is also a golfer.[11] Kobori was educated at Rangiora High School.[12]
Source:[13]
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 Mar 2019 | SEC NZ PGA Championship (as an amateur) |
−21 (67-65-66-69=267) | 4 strokes | David Smail |
2 | 21 Jan 2024 | Webex Players Series Murray River | −21 (65-66-64-68=263) | 2 strokes | Shannon Tan |
3 | 28 Jan 2024 | Webex Players Series Victoria | −18 (66-66-65-69=266) | 1 stroke | Ashley Lau |
4 | 11 Feb 2024 | Webex Players Series Sydney | −24 (65-64-69-66=264) | 1 stroke | Jenny Shin |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 Apr 2022 | Autex Muriwai Open (as an amateur) |
−10 (66-65-69-68=278) | 4 strokes | Harry Bateman |
Tournament | 2024 |
---|---|
Masters Tournament | |
PGA Championship | CUT |
U.S. Open | |
The Open Championship |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
Amateur