A place in The Masters and The Open Championship is all that is holding Kazuma Kobori back from transitioning into the professional game.
He won the Australasian Tour Q-School earlier in the year and has status should he wish to turn professional. However, a victory at this week’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne will earn him a spot in the field for the two major championships, an opportunity that is too good for the 30th-ranked amateur in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) in the world to pass up, especially given his current form.
Last week, Kobori, who celebrates his 22nd birthday this week, won the individual competition at the Eisenhower Trophy, becoming the second New Zealander after Phil Tataurangi in 1992. He’s also added the Australian Amateur Championship, the Western Amateur Championship, and the Elite Amateur Series to his growing trophy cabinet and says a victory this week would mean a lot.
“My track record at this event hasn’t been very good. Obviously, I’m looking to change that this week. I’ve won the Western Amateur and the Australian Amateur this year, but winning this one might just top those two.”
He understandably fancies his chances on the famous Melbourne Sandbelt course. He’s the third highest-ranked amateur in the field this week behind Japan’s Yuta Sugiura (15) and China’s Wenyi Ding (17) and beat four of the top five ranked amateurs in the world last week’s World Amateur Team’s Championship.