The 22-year-old North Cantabrian has accepted an invitation to tee it up at his maiden major, the PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club in Kentucky (16-19 May).

Kobori received the invite from the PGA of America due to his incredible season on the PGA Tour of Australasia, where he topped the season-long Order of Merit, winning three times. He has also secured a DP World Tour card for 2025.

Playing at a major championship was already on Kobori’s itinerary in 2024, with the spoils of topping the Order of Merit also meaning he gets a tee time at the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon in July.

Kobori played in the Asia-Pacific Amateur at Royal Melbourne in October last year, where he finished in sixth place. He turned pro a week later at the Queensland PGA Championship.

His surge through the play-for-pay ranks which followed happened quickly. Kobori himself didn’t expect such a rapid ascent, but he glad to be “riding the wave”.

“You practise for it, you train for it, but at the end of the day, you really don’t know how it is going to pan out. To be honest, I didn’t think it was going to happen this way, but I'm certainly not complaining,” Kobori told Golf Australia magazine on Tuesday.

Even as an amateur, the Rangiora native had plenty of opportunities to cut his teeth against professionals on the Charles Tour in New Zealand. Moving into the pro-ranks – from the outside looking in – appeared to be a natural progression.

Kobori claimed his third Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia title of the season at the Webex Players Series Sydney. PHOTO: Getty Images.

He admits he doesn’t have many memories of Rory McIlroy’s 2014 triumph at Valhalla and will need to do a bit of study on the Kentucky loop.

“I wasn’t really expecting to get into this one, so I’m going to have to do some last-minute research, but from what I can see, the rough is really long, so hitting the driver straight will be really important. We will see if we can do that,” Kobori laughed.

Whenever the New Zealander arrives at a tournament, there is no doubt he is expecting to win. However, when it comes to his goals for the week, it's all about staying true to how he plays and competing and comparing his game to some of the best in the business. As Kobori says himself, not many players are afforded those kinds of opportunities – especially at such a young age.

“I just want to be able to play my game so that by the end of the week, I will have a really good understanding of where my game is compared to everyone else in the world.

“This is one of only four times – yes, you can count the Olympics as well – a very rare occasion where I can play against the best in the world. So I’m going to use this as an opportunity to set a bit of a personal benchmark to see where I’m at. I can only do that as long as I stay out of my own way."