Kazuma Kobori comes oh so close

By Neville Idour

Canterbury’s rookie DP World Tour player Kazuma Kobori certainly announced his considerable ability with a stunning final few holes to almost snatch victory in the British Masters at The Belfry in England last month.

The 23-year-old from Kaiapoi finished as clubhouse leader on 15 under par with Nicolai Hojgaard then watched Alex Noren having to save par from five feet on the 18th for victory. Noren did just that avoiding a three man playoff.

However for Kobori, especially after his third placing at the BMW International in Germany in July, it was a milestone performance in a strong field, leaving the likes of Matthew Fitzpatrick five shots behind.

Kobori was just inside the top 10 with six holes to play, seemingly out of contention for a top three placing. However he proceded to reel off a sequence of birdie, par, birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie.

In the process he nailed some astonishing putts that brought the house down as he smiled his way home to the delight of the large crowds. One of the putts must have been 100 feet and another 50 feet. His easiest putt might have been the eagle putt. He also came within centimetres of a hole in one on the par three seventh hole.

His first two rounds of 69 and 68 had him hovering in the top five. Four consecutive birdies to finish the second round gave an inkling of things to come, then a third round 71 dropped him down to eighth. Cometh the barnstorming finish and a tie for second after an impressive 20 birdies and an eagle, offset by five bogeys.

Reflecting on his performance Kobori said: “My last three events have been missed cut, missed cut and tie second. It shows how close we are to success at any time.”

This earned Kobori his biggest payday of $NZ521,000 and took his earnings in 2025 to $NZ1.2 million. He has now moved up 12 places to 23rd in the DP World Tour Race To Dubai rankings. Fellow Kiwi Daniel Hillier, who won the British Masters in 2023, missed the cut and now sits 15th having dropped two places. Both players look well placed for the Race to Dubai grand finale.