THE 154TH OPEN

July 16, 2026

Kazuma Kobori

Mixed Zone

Q. Pretty solid day today; how do you sum that up?

KAZUMA KOBORI: Yeah, I struck the ball really, really well. But a few mishaps on the greens. They're tricky. But all in all, even par, I'm pretty happy about out there. That's how I sum it up.

Q. With the wind picking up in the afternoon, did you have to adjust your game when you came to the back nine?

KAZUMA KOBORI: Yeah, a little bit. It wasn't that windy out there, and it shifted in a manner that the back nine wasn't help because it was the last few days. I was kind of bracing myself for that. But no, the wind shifted more off the left down -- you know the strong holes, so it was more off the left, so it was fine. It was just trusting different lines because the game plan you had the first three days doesn't quite apply anymore, so just trusting that.

Q. A lot of guys were coming in here talking about different decisions they've been making off the tee. What has your philosophy been off the tee in general? Have you hit a lot of drivers?

KAZUMA KOBORI: So far I've hit a lot of 3-woods and hybrids, even at my length. I think it's a tricky one. I think you create a game plan that you don't -- you don't want to hit a good shot into a bunker, but at some stage it's going to happen, and you have to accept that a little bit, because if you play out of all the bunkers then you're not going to make any birdies because you've got too much club in. There's an element of a little bit of risk management and thinking.

Q. How important was it to get a good start to the back nine? Obviously big birdies on 10, 11 and then on the 15th hole where you made that putt over 20 feet? That's the fourth hardest hole on the golf course this week. Did you feel like you stole one from the course?

KAZUMA KOBORI: Yeah, for sure. I definitely wanted to pick up birdie. I knocked it greenside for two on the one before, par-5, and I'm pretty sure that's the easiest hole on the golf course today. I didn't convert that, so that kind of sucked. But then I kind of got two back. I lost one but got two back on that hole, so I was pretty happy. That was definitely the highlight for sure.

Q. You're kind of three years into a pro career and a couple of years in Europe. What sort of things have you learnt since you turned pro being out on Tour?

KAZUMA KOBORI: A lot. Like a lot to cover, but I would say the main thing for me is just managing my expectations really good and then believing in myself, as well. Those two kind of go hand in hand. I'm never going to play golf like Bryson does, and that's completely okay because I've got my strength and Bryson has his.

That's kind of a radical example, but you kind of get what I mean. So yeah, just trying to do what I can do really well and then see what I end up with at the end. That's kind of been my philosophy.

Q. How have you come up with planning schedules, playing in Aussie, playing in Europe, playing in Asia?

KAZUMA KOBORI: My manager helps me out a lot. But just trying to stay fresh, trying to stay injury-free, and make sure I still enjoy being out there. I think it's pretty -- general rule of thumb is if I don't like being out there, I'm not going to play that well. If I'm feeling like I don't want to play, then it's all right to take a week off here and there. So yeah, that's kind of been my thing.

Q. Touching on Bryson, as you mentioned, you got the practice round with him yesterday. Did you go out with him in the --

KAZUMA KOBORI: Yeah, Bo ditched me. I was really excited for that but he was there earlier than me, so he teed off on his own. But I got to play with my buddy from Japan, Kota, who just won recently in Austria. So that was really beneficial. He's obviously playing really good golf and I was able to pick his brain a little bit, so that was fun.

Q. Plans for this afternoon and your goals going into tomorrow?

KAZUMA KOBORI: Yeah, just want to -- I had a pretty good time out there, more so on the back nine. Front nine was pretty grim. But trying to keep the same vibes, enjoy myself. We're at The Open, for God's sakes; it's not a guarantee to come back here every year. I am here, so I'm going to try and enjoy it.

Q. A really firm and fast Royal Birkdale today; is that a style of golf you really enjoy playing?

KAZUMA KOBORI: I think so. I think if it was like this every single week, it might get a bit old, like hitting 5-iron 260. That's pretty outrageous. But once every so often -- Royal Melbourne was kind of like that. Not to this degree but had the same vibe. I think every so often, it's pretty fun to play.

Q. You've got a new putter in the bag this week. Are you using a new putter?

KAZUMA KOBORI: Yeah, I used it most of last year, but I haven't pulled it out this year. Pulled it out this week.

Q. What went into that decision. What were you searching for?

KAZUMA KOBORI: A little bit of alignment. This week it's hard to hit it close because it's so baked so you're relying on a lot of bounces in order to hit it close, therefore you're going to hit a lot of lag putts. That one has a bit more -- how do I describe it? Forgiveness. On the longer putts it's a bit nicer. Distance control is a bit easier. So that was the thought process for that.

Q. It doesn't look like a different putter from a distance. How do they incorporate that forgiveness?

KAZUMA KOBORI: So they put a little bit of weight on the back end so it's a bit fatter. I use a normal blade. That one is a bit fatter, so obviously it's got a bit more power, punch behind it. That's all it is. But I like looking at blades so I'm never going to go away from that anymore. I have in the past, and it was a big bad decision, so never going to do that anymore.