Michael Hendry won't be the only intriguing New Zealand story to keep an eye on at the Queensland PGA.
Canterbury's Kazuma Kobori will play his first tournament as a pro this week after making the move from the amateur ranks following the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Melbourne, where he was unable to capitalise on a strong start to finish in sixth.
He would've held off on the career move had he won the title, with a place at the Masters for the victor. But the result only hastened the decision.
"I've been thinking about this for a while," Kobori said, before explaining how he will approach the game compared to playing as an amateur.
"The clubs I'm using, the ball, the size of the hole all that doesn't change."
But what does change is the added pressure of playing for his livelihood and everything that comes with that.
He's spoken with compatriot Daniel Hillier, who won on the European Tour for the first time this year, and other Kiwis about what it's like and the biggest challenges.
"One (piece of) advice was actually from (fellow Kiwi pro) Nick Voke when we had a call ages ago. He was saying the golf is the easy part of professional golf. It's actually more about organising everything behind the scenes — your flights, accommodation, time management, that's the hard bit."
The 22-year-old's just finished university studies in sports management, which could come in handy for that exact process.
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