Kiwi all smiles after day-one ace

Kazuma Kobori celebrates his ace on the fourth hole at Millbrook yesterday. PHOTO: MICHAEL THOMAS...
Kazuma Kobori celebrates his ace on the fourth hole at Millbrook yesterday. PHOTO: MICHAEL THOMAS/PHOTOSPORT
Kazuma Kobori looked like he was feeling the cold but his 4-iron produced the hottest shot of the opening day of the New Zealand Open.

The young Rangiora golfer fired a hole in one on the 203m par-3 fourth hole on his way to signing for a tidy round of 4-under-par 67, making him the leading Kiwi in the clubhouse.

Kobori, swaddled in warm clothing including a neck-warmer and a white woollen hat with a pom-pom to combat the miserable conditions, is not often seen without a smile but it was just slightly broader as he analysed his ace.

‘‘That was a good shot.

‘‘Hit 4-iron from 200m and it just went in. Yeah, pretty happy with that.

‘‘You don’t really expect to hole it on that hole, especially 4-iron, in these conditions.’’

It was Kobori’s fourth hole in one in the professional ranks.

His most recent came just three months ago when he aced the par-3 17th, the party hole, at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland.

Kobori had two bogies and four birdies to go with his ace and was satisfied enough with his round given the conditions.

‘‘It’s actually playing pretty tricky out there. I thought someone was going to go ballistic but no-one has so far.

‘‘Four-under, that’s pretty good. I made a few sloppy mistakes but we can tidy that up over the weekend.’’

Kobori could have been the joint clubhouse leader had he not found the damp stuff on the water-surrounded Remarkables 18th and been forced to settle for bogey.

‘‘In all honesty, that shot is pretty tricky.

‘‘If the other side wasn’t water, it would be a catastrophic error, but because it’s surrounded by water, it’s one of those ones where you just move on with it.’’

The 2023 Bledisloe Cup winner for best amateur at the New Zealand Open was not too bothered by the rain at Millbrook.

‘‘The wind was the issue. For us, if it’s raining and no wind, it doesn’t concern us.

‘‘When you get a little bit of both, it gets real gnarly, and through my front nine, which was the back nine, it got like that, and it was just about trying to string pars together.’’

Kobori relished playing alongside New Zealand veteran Steven Alker, who posted a flawless 3-under 68.

Sam Jones was the best of the other Kiwis with completed rounds at 2-under, while former champion Michael Hendry and Queenstown golfer Ben Campbell were hovering at 1-under.