Mike Clayton and Geoff Ogilvy’s ‘The Game’ was the foundation for the four day stroke play event where male and female pros and amateurs compete alongside one another for the overall title, while also contesting their own separate divisions. All played out on some of the best golf courses not just in Australia but the world.

The mix of older, younger and very young players offers the chance for learning and improving on the journey that is a life in elite golf. And one player who is taking that opportunity by the scruff of the neck this week is Momoka Kobori.

The New Zealander has already identified herself as a player to watch in the future during her college career at Pepperdine, then when the 23-year-old born in Japan nearly won the TPS Murray River event earlier this year in its own mixed format.

Kobori ultimately went down to Aussie Aaron Pike in a play-off yet she impressed all who watched her that week at Cypress Lakes, and this week is taking the advantage of the more relaxed tournament format to get in some serious work with coach Dom Azzopardi.

“It was actually really good. For me it was like the first time having him on the bag, it was actually a lot of fun,” Kobori told Golf Australia magazine after her opening round of three-under at Kingston Heath where Azzopardi is on double duty as coach and caddie.

“I feel like it was a good mixture of playing a competitive round but also learning a whole lot from the way he looks at things on the course because he has done a fair bit of caddying as well. So I feel like I got a lot out of it today.”

“You don’t get the chance to do that, you are either playing a big tournament or a practice round. It is hard to find an in between. This week for me is going to be a week where I get a lot out of it, so quite exciting.” - Momoka Kobori.

Azzopardi’s other caddie work has mostly been done for his “star pupil” Lucas Herbert, a DP World and PGA Tour winner who was going to return to the Sandbelt this week after playing the inaugural event in 2021 but was a late withdrawal.

The tournament’s misfortune might have been Kobori’s gain as she gains valuable insights into her own game, and playing the game at the highest level before she embarks on a full year on the Ladies European Tour in 2023.

“I feel like it is a really unique chance,” she said of the pair's setup this week. “You don’t get the chance to do that, you are either playing a big tournament or a practice round. It is hard to find an in between. This week for me is going to be a week where I get a lot out of it, so quite exciting.”

Even though there is a big focus on learning and the pair developing a deeper understanding of where to work moving forward, Kobori is also a competitive athlete with a game that will only get better in the future.

Azzopardi is her first proper coach, and the Kiwi currently leads the women’s professional section by two shots from Cassie Porter who opened with a one-under 73. She is also just four back of Cam Davis who leads the overall event at seven-under.

Unlike Davis, who has spent his time since the Australian Open attempting to relax back at home in Sydney, although admittedly playing plenty of golf, Kobori is on her fourth consecutive week of tournament play.

A share of 22nd at the Australian Open kicked off the stretch before she teed it up at the Singapore Open on the KLPGA Tour then headed to Taiwan for another event.

Clearly she isn’t afraid of travelling and mixing things up, and she certainly won’t take a backwards step if she finds herself going head-to-head with another male professional in the closing stages this week.

Now if she could just get the coach to carry the bag rather than pull a trolley things might get even better.