History-making golfer Momoka Kobori takes Title win in stride
EMERGING golf talent Momoka Kobori has already banked the first pay cheque of her professional career.
The 21-year-old Cantabrian put her name in lights last weekend, creating history as the first female winner of a mixed field New Zealand PGA event. Kobori finished tied for first alongside Harry Bateman at the two-day 36-hole Whitford Park Pro Am in Auckland at eight-under.
It was some effort from Kobori in a talented 50-player field, which included New Zealand men’s No 1 Ryan Fox, Gareth Paddison, Mark Brown, Josh Geary and former New Zealand Eisenhower representative Daniel Hillier.
New Zealand Golf has embraced the mixed gender format on the Charles Tour circuit, which sees male and female golfers competing for the same trophy and purse – playing alongside each other.
At the Whitford Park Pro-Am,
Kobori was playing off the slightly shorter women’s tees, but the mixed field format aims to make the competition as fair as possible, creating a level playing field.
Kobori pocketed $3500 after finishing tied for first – her first earnings since swapping the amateur ranks for the pros.
‘‘I’m pretty happy with it – pretty stoked with it,’’ she told Sunday News.
‘‘It does mean a lot to be the first female winner in any of the Pro-Ams [in New Zealand]. It’s a bit of a cool thing to do.’’
Kobori’s long-term dream is to one day play on the LPGA circuit alongside Lydia Ko, but
the Covid-19 pandemic has scuppered any hope of featuring at the tournament’s qualifying school.
Next month, Kobori will begin a three-year New Zealand PGA coaching traineeship at the Pegasus Golf Club in North Canterbury, which will provide her with another outlet, outside playing.
‘‘Now is a good time to get into coaching, but I definitely would like to keep on playing as well. Coaching is a good thing because it gives me a pathway after I’m done with golf.’’
Kobori returned to New Zealand last March after graduating with a sports
medicine degree from Pepperdine University in
Malibu, California.
She shone for the Pepperdine women’s golf team, achieving a school career ranking of seventh all-time in scoring average (74.22). The youngster also finished eighth all-time at Pepperdine with 21 below-par rounds.
Her most memorable win came in 2019 at the Dick McGuire Invitational in New Mexico, where she fired an eight-under 64 round, which tied the third-best round in programme history and was one shot off the record.
On Sunday, she headed into the second round of the Whitford Park Pro Am trailing Bateman by four shots. With a shotgun start being used, she had no idea how Bateman was going on the other side of the course during the final round.
Kobori made a crucial birdie on the 8th hole (her 17th) and signed for a three-under 68 and eight-under total. She had no idea where she was sitting until her score was verified in the clubhouse.
‘‘It was definitely nice knowing that I was able to play the way I did within that mix of awesome players.
‘‘I didn’t have any expectations going into it. It was my first event as a professional, so it was really about trying to get used to the atmosphere and playing ProAms.’’
Golf is a family affair for Kobori, who moved to Canterbury from Japan when she was 8. Younger brother Kazuma, 19, is also an impressive golfer and competes on the Charles Tour.
New Zealand Golf high performance manager Gregg Thorpe said Kobori’s composed demeanour and ability not to get rattled suited her well in the sport.
‘‘When you watch her play she is just a really calm and collected player, but she’s grinding away. Her and her brother are really naturally competitive, but at the same time they’ve got that calm nature that lends itself to golf.’’