BRISBANE, Australia (AP) \u2014 Japanese-born New Zealander Kazuma Kobori finished his round with four consecutive birdies for an 8-under 63 Friday to take a one-stroke lead into the third round of the Australian PGA Championship.<\/p>\n
Kobori, who won the 2019 New Zealand PGA Championship, had a two-round total of 10-under 132 at Royal Queensland. He had a hole-in-one during his first round.<\/p>\n
Australian Brett Rankin, who shot 69 Friday, was among a group tied for second. Rankin completed his first round earlier in the day due to a thunderstorm suspension on Thursday. <\/p>\n
Sebastian Garcia of Spain, who led Rankin by one stroke<\/a> after the first round, had a 72 Friday and was three strokes behind.<\/p>\n Marco Penge<\/a>, who won three times on the European tour this year and is the tournament\u2019s highest-ranked player at No. 30, shot 65 Friday and was also three strokes off the lead.<\/p>\n Former British Open champion and LIV Tour regular Cameron Smith shot 75 and missed a seventh straight cut.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, I just don\u2019t know. I was so confused,\u201d Smith, who was playing in his home state of Queensland, said. \u201cI was feeling good, really confident and just couldn\u2019t get anything going.\u201d<\/p>\n The tournament is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australia and the European tour, which is starting its 2025-26 season just two weeks after Rory McIlroy won<\/a> the Race to Dubai title.<\/p>\n McIlroy will highlight the field in next week\u2019s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne beginning Dec. 4.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n