Telfer's Thoughts

His name may not run off the tongue as easily as Lydia Ko or Ryan Fox, but it may not be long before the pronunciation of Kazuma Kobori’s name becomes second nature to golf followers everywhere.

Kazuma Kobori is quickly but quietly becoming the silent achiever of NZ golf. No, he hasn’t set the golfing world alight or even the NZ golf scene for that matter. He is after all still a rookie, still in his first year as a professional golfer.

But again last week in the Italian Open where he finished in a tie for 16th place, he has shown a game typified by consistency and accuracy off the tee and a rare touch on the green.

Statistics, especially in a game like golf, don’t lie. After 17 tournaments so far this season on the DP World Tour, Kobori sits as the second most accurate driver of the golf ball off the tee and the 31st best putter on tour. Remember these stats embrace well over 200 golfers who play on the DP World Tour, the world’s second strongest tour behind the USPGA Tour. Remember Kobori is just 23 years of age and has only been a pro since November last year. His consistency on this demanding tour, which so far this year has encompassed tournaments on four different continents, has seen him accumulate E223,000 or approximately NZ$425,000 in prize money. That suggests he’s probably done enough this year to have secured his playing card for next year on the DP World Tour.

His immediate goal now is probably to finish inside the top 70 money winners this year in order to qualify for the super-rich DP World Tour play-offs in November. At the moment Kobori sits at number 73 on these rankings. We are exactly halfway through the season with still 16 tournaments left before those November finals, so Kobori, given his new-found consistency, would appear to have an excellent chance of being in those finals.

To date, from his 17 starts on this year’s tour, he has recorded 7 top 25 finishes. He has only one top ten to his credit, a 4th place at the Singapore Open. Underlining this rookie’s consistency has been the fact that he has only missed 5 cuts, and remember he is playing on courses every week he’s never played before. Add to that a schedule of having to travel far and wide to countries he’s unlikely to have traversed before. This is a far cry from the sheltered, carefully managed career he had as a leading amateur where everything was paid for.

Very few NZ golfers, with the exception of Lydia Ko, have posted numbers as impressive as this young man in their first year as a pro, which underlies just how profoundly difficult life is for most amateurs when they first turn pro. So don’t worry if you stumble a bit over getting his name absolutely right. It won’t be long, I suspect, before you’ll know it off by heart.

NZ’s other DP World Tour golfer, Daniel Hillier, didn’t fare quite as well, finishing in a tie for 41st place. However Daniel remains 10th on the End of Season Play-offs ranking list.

Steve Alker meanwhile had to make do with a 7 th place in the US Seniors Open, 8 shots behind the winner, Padric Harrington. It was the Irishman’s second Senior Major championship title.

And finally a word for NZ’s latest pro, Fiona Xu, trying to make it on the USLPGA Tour. Playing in the Dow Championship, a doubles event, Fiona and her American partner, Mariel Galdianao, finished in a tie for 33rd place. It’s been a tough first up year for Fiona. She’s only made the cut twice from her 9 starts, so her prize money in this latest outing of US$6700 was no doubt very welcome.