One of two Emerald Lakes members in the Sandbelt Invitational field alongside fellow teen prodigy Sarah Hammett, Komulainen will head to the United States with a packed resume of junior titles to his name. Included in his haul is a third Gary Player Classic age group victory, after shooting an eight-under par total to claim the 16-17 category at the Pacific Golf Club a few months ago.

Komulainen, 18, completed his Year 12 studies this year at the Hillcrest Christian School on the Gold Coast and has been fortunate in recent years to expand upon his education in the game via various playing excursions to tournaments in the U.S and Europe. He’s also benefitted from being a Cameron Smith Scholarship holder, spending time playing and practicing with Smith at his home in Florida, watching how the 2022 Open champion prepares for events. 

The opportunity to add to his knowledge bank at this week’s Sandbelt Invitational ahead of his date with the Knoxville campus, in the company of those who have achieved much in the game at the amateur and professional level, is one the young Queenslander is extremely appreciative of.

“I’ve probably played Victoria more than the others. I played 10 holes at Peninsula Kingswood (South) the other day and have not played Yarra Yarra and Royal Melbourne East. I can’t wait,” he said after completing his third round.

“The courses and conditions down here on the Sandbelt are so much different to anything I’ve experienced elsewhere. The turf and greens, the bunkering.”

Paired on day one with two professionals who have won on tour in recent years – Ben Eccles and Kristalle Blum – Komulainen’s powerful action was an eye-opener, And, after an even-par second round in virtually his first look the South course at Peninsula Kingswood, Komulainen struck gold with a third-round pairing alongside PGA Tour star Cameron Davis at Yarra Yarra.

“I was pretty excited to learn I was going to play with Cam,” he said. “I was having a look at the leaderboard and thought, there’s a chance I might get to play with him, I was pretty stoked as soon as I got the text with the draw.”

Despite dropping a few shots late in the round for a four over 74 to Davis’ three-under 67, Komulainen was quick to reflect on the lessons learned from watching a current world top 50 player at close quarters.

“Mentally, I thought he was very stable. Things weren’t going so well for him early on, he missed it in a couple of bad spots and didn’t really make any birdies. He turned it around a bit, but I noticed nothing really bothered him too much,” Komulainen said.

RIGHT: Kai Komulainen in action during the second round of the Sandbelt Invitational. PHOTO: Paul Shire.

“From a physical standpoint, we hit our driver and our irons about the same distance but his short irons and approach play was really good. He was really good at taking an extra club and taking the spin off on some approach shots and short par-3s.

“That was one thing I definitely took away from today, especially when things got a bit tough and windy, he’d have an advantage with his ability to flight the ball down a bit. It was impressive to watch and he’s also one of the nicest pros I’ve ever played with.”

Davis also shared a lot of his early experiences as a professional where his high rank as an amateur in world golf didn’t necessarily equate to many starts in professional events. Davis told Komulainen that he entered a number of Monday qualifying events without much success and had to work hard to establish himself on any Tour, including here in Australia prior to his victory in the 2017 Australian Open.

It’s these sorts of storytelling and playing opportunities the Sandbelt Invitational was designed to provide for young players in Komulainen’s position – access to those with more experience at the levels they're aspiring to get to.

“It’s just a great opportunity to play with better players and some incredible golf courses down here. I was really excited to come down here to play and just very grateful for the opportunity,” Komulainen said.