Australian PGA Championship: Ryan Fox, Kazuma Kobori make strong starts at Royal Queensland

Thursday, 27 November 2025

Kazuma Kobori after hitting a hole-in-one on the 17th during day one of the 2025 PGA Championship at Royal Queensland, Brisbane.

Kiwi golfer Kazuma Kobori reckons there were no more than 40 people watching when he stepped onto the 17th tee at Royal Queensland’s ‘Party Hole’ in Brisbane on Thursday morning.

On Saturday it will be lined with thousands of golf fans who stand to share in A$1 million if any golfer can hole-in-one in round three of the Australian PGA Championship, but around 8am local time it was near deserted. The TV cameras weren’t even around.

After playing partner David Puig of Spain hit a sand wedge close at the short 118m par-three, Kobori stepped up and hit a “three-quarter pitching wedge” in tricky, swirling wind, fearing he would go long. As the 24-year-old from Canterbury tells it, it pitched nicely, took one hop and dropped into the cup for an ace.

“It was pretty quiet but there were people watching the shot from down the line so it was a pretty good reaction,” Kobori said with a grin.

“I reckon it’s my first one in a tournament. It always helps because par-threes are quite hard usually, so if you can get the job done in one shot it’s always good.”

At that stage after seven holes of his opening round (he teed off at the 10th), Kobori was three-under, so he was a touch deflated to sign for a two-under-par 69, two behind compatriot and clubhouse leader Ryan Fox.

Still the Kiwis are right in the mix in the DP World Tour season opener as they look to emulate the last New Zealand winner, Greg Turner, in 1999.

Ryan Fox of New Zealand shot an opening round 67 at Royal Queensland.

Fox, the world No 41 coming off an eight-week tournament hiatus, led the way with a four-under 67 after teeing off with defending champion Elvis Smylie and two-time winner Adam Scott at 6.10am local time (9.10am NZT).

The two-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2025 was again a happy golfer, albeit with tired legs, after five birdies and a solitary bogey.

“Two months off and it was by choice this time (rather than injury), which is nice. I feel like I’ve kinda got nothing to lose. I’m here to try to win the golf tournament rather than playing for a card and it’s a nice place to be,” Fox said.

“It just felt good out there, I hit a couple of good shots early and it was like ‘oh yeah this is what it feels like again’.”

Fox said his expectations weren’t overly high, coming off rounds with his mates in New Zealand, time with coach Marcus Wheelhouse but no serious tournament play. But he was fresh, and relaxed. “I can go out and give it a crack and see what happens, and if I can do that for the rest of the week hopefully I might be at the pointy end on Sunday.”

Fox sat alongside Australian Anthony Quayle, China’s Wenyi Ding and Finland’s Tapio Pulkkanen as those to shoot 67 of the early starters.

Scott and 2023 champion Min Woo Lee each shot opening rounds of 68, as did New Zealand’s Josh Geary who had an eagle two on the par-four 12th.

Rain and lightning saw play suspended late in the opening day with half the field still on the course.

Daniel Hillier, at 163rd the second-ranked Kiwi in the field, was in the mix at two-under after 14 holes while Spain’s Sebastian Garcia held the lead at seven-under after 15. Australian Daniel Gale (five-under after 12) was the only other player ahead of Fox when the weather intervened.