Taupō Disc Golf Club president Ken Harris practices his game at Spa Park. Video / Dan Hutchinson
Professional golf is supposed to be an arduous grind from the early days as a professional to finally earning your way to one of the four majors.
You’re not supposed to have been invited to your first major tournament six months after turning professional and with just 17 professional starts under your belt.
Tell that to Kazuma Kobori, the Kiwi golfer who will be teeing it up next week at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky at the US PGA Championship – widely regarded as the hardest field in golf – after receiving an invitation from the PGA of America due to his winning of the Australian Order of Merit last year.
Winning the first three tournaments of your 2024 season is likely to turn a few heads and while he’d planned to commence his major career at the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon this July, also due to winning the Order of Merit, the New Zealander was alerted in the early hours of Tuesday morning of his invitation to Kentucky.
An unexpected WhatsApp message from his manager was how the news reached the 22-year-old, who only turned professional in November of last year.
“My manager was like ‘Congrats you’re in the PGA’.
“I knew he was pushing for the invite... my ranking isn’t as good as some of the other players in the world so I didn’t think I’d get it but I’m very grateful for his help and happy I’m playing next week.”
The 156-player field at the PGA Championship is mostly comprised of the top 100 ranked men’s golfers worldwide and is the only major that does not explicitly invite leading amateurs to compete, making it technically the most competitive golf tournament on the planet.
Competing against the best in the world is not something Kobori will take lightly. He knows success at Valhalla will be as much about mental fortitude as it will be skill from tee to green and he has worked with a sports psychologist to make sure the mind is in sync with the body.
“He just said, honestly, just be a bit more mindful of everything you’re doing... the crowd’s going to be a bit bigger, the nerves are going to be a bit bigger, so just be a bit more mindful with what you’re doing. Whether it be breathing, your nutrition, your gym work, your practice.”
Kazuma Kobori at the 103rd New Zealand Open. Photo / Photosport
That isn’t to say that Kobori won’t look to embrace the crowds that only a major golf tournament can bring.
“I love it, aye. I love having a crowd so will definitely be looking to play some good golf and get the crowd going, for sure.”
The world No 432 will likely not be the only New Zealander in the field in Kentucky, compatriot Ryan Fox sits slightly higher in the rankings at 61 and will be looking to improve on his strong tied-23rd finish at the PGA Championship in 2023.
Kobori says a practice round with Fox could be the ideal preparation as well as an opportunity to bounce a few ideas off someone with major experience.
“I didn’t even think about that, but that’s probably a really good idea. I might even try and jack up a practice round with Foxy and see how that goes. He’s obviously played before, I think he’s played in all four majors, so he probably knows what’s going on more than I do.”
The first men’s golf major was played 164 years ago. In that time only eight have managed to win at their first time of asking. With that in mind, Kobori says a focus on each shot he plays and his own performance will give him an idea of where he sits against the game’s elite - irrespective of where he finishes.
“I want to be able to play my game. By the end of the week I’ll have a really good understanding of where my game compares to everyone else in the world. This is one of four very rare occasions where I can play against the best in the world, so I’m going to use this as an opportunity to have a bit of a benchmark to see where I’m at.”
Kobori is aware of his comparative inexperience in heading to his first major championship where he will be coming up against names such as Rory McIlroy, who won the PGA Championship when it was last held at Valhalla in 2014, but acknowledges you have to start somewhere.
“I think that tournament [PGA Championship], if you exclude pro-ams, that’s going to be my 18th tournament as a pro, so not many under my belt. I mean, s***, we’re going into the deep end so let’s do it.”
The PGA Championship begins May 17 NZT with tee times and pairings to be released closer to the date.
