Momoka Kobori

Momoka Kobori
Personal information
Born (1999-03-21) 21 March 1999 (age 25)
Karuizawa, Japan
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Sporting nationality New Zealand
ResidenceRangiora, New Zealand
Career
CollegePepperdine University
Turned professional2021
Current tour(s)Ladies European Tour
WPGA Tour of Australasia
Former tour(s)LET Access Series
Professional wins5
Number of wins by tour
ALPG Tour2
Other3
Achievements and awards
West Coast Conference
Freshman of the Year		2017

Momoka Kobori (born 21 March 1999) is a New Zealand professional golfer and Ladies European Tour player. She has two WPGA Tour of Australasia titles, including the 2023 Women's NSW Open, and two LET Access Series titles in Europe.[1]

Early life and amateur career

Kobori was born in Karuizawa, Japan and moved to Canterbury, New Zealand with her family when she was eight. Her younger brother Kazuma is also a golfer. He won the New Zealand PGA Championship on the PGA Tour of Australasia as an amateur.[2]

Kobori was a member of the New Zealand national golf academy, and won the 2014 and 2015 Liz Douglas Trophy for the lowest women's stroke average in Canterbury. In 2015, she was runner-up at the Srixon International Junior Classic in Australia and won four times: the U16 Victorian Junior Masters, the Faldo Series Asia New Zealand Qualifying event, the South Island Stroke Play Championship, and the South Island U19 Championship.[3]

In 2016, she won the Queensland Girls Amateur and defended her title at the South Island Stroke Play Championship. She was runner-up at the Australian Girls' Amateur and the Muriwai Open. She made the cut at the 2016 New Zealand Women's Open, a Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned event.[3]

Kobori graduated from Rangiora High School in New Zealand in 2015. She attended Pepperdine University near Malibu, California and played with the Pepperdine Waves women's golf team 2016–2020. She was West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year in 2017 and an All-American as a senior in 2020. She graduated with a degree in sports medicine.[3]

Professional career

Kobori turned professional in January 2021 and soon finished tied for first at the two-day 36-hole Whitford Park Pro-Am in Auckland at eight-under.[4]

In 2022, Kobori played on the WPGA Tour of Australasia where she was runner-up female at the TPS Victoria and TPS Murray River before placing first at the TPS Hunter Valley in March, losing a playoff to Aaron Pike for the overall title.[5]

Kobori then finished T14 at the Australian Ladies Classic – Bonville and T12 at the Women's NSW Open, both Ladies European Tour co-sanctioned events,[6] before turning her attention to the LET Access Series where she finished runner-up once and won twice in her first four starts.[7][8] She finished 3rd on the 2022 LETAS Order of Merit to secure an LET card for 2023.[9]

In 2023, she won the Women's NSW Open, an WPGA Tour of Australasia event, in a playoff.

Amateur wins

  • 2015 South Island Stroke Play Championship, South Island U19 Championship
  • 2016 South Island Stroke Play Championship, Queensland Girls Amateur, Victorian Junior Masters
  • 2019 Branch Law Firm-Dick McGuire Invitational
  • 2020 Muriwai Open

Source:[10]

Professional wins (5)

WPGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin
of victory 		Runner-up
1 13 Mar 2022 TPS Hunter Valley 64-69-67=200 −8 3 strokes Australia Cassie Porter
2 26 Mar 2023 Women's NSW Open 70-70-71=211 −8 Playoff Australia Claire Shin (a)

LET Access Series wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin
of victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 12 Jun 2022 Montauban Ladies Open −10 (69-69-68=206) 3 strokes Scotland Hannah McCook
2 2 Jul 2022 Hauts de France - Pas de Calais Golf Open −8 (69-72-70=211) 4 strokes Netherlands Lauren Holmey (a)
Spain Noemí Jiménez

Charles Tour wins (1)

  • 2021 Whitford Park Pro-Am (tie)[2]

Team appearances

Amateur

References

  1. ^ "Player profile Momoka Kobori". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Momoka Kobori looks at coaching pathway after historic New Zealand golf win". Stuff. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Women's Golf Roster: Momoka Kobori". Pepperdine University. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Quick Round with Momoka Kobori". New Zealand Golf Magazine. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Patient Pike prevails in TPS Hunter Valley playoff". PGA of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Momoka Kobori". Rolex Rankings. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Momoka Kobori Wins in Montauban in First European Start". LET Access Series. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Kobori Claims Second LETAS Title as Porsius Wins on Alps Tour". WPGA of Australasia. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Six Players Earn 2023 LET Card Through LET Access Series". Ladies European Tour. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  10. ^ "Momoka Kobori". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 7 July 2022.