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Taichi Kho (centre), Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith walk off the 18th tee together during the first round of the 2023 Hong Kong Open. Photo: Asian Tour.
SportGolf

Asian Tour: Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho ready to embrace discomfort as year of opportunity at home and abroad approaches

  • Kho begins his second season as a professional golfer this week, carrying a ‘deep, inner-rooted confidence’ that he belongs at the highest level
  • The 23-year-old’s packed scheduled includes Asian Tour, DP World Tour and potentially LIV Golf events over the next several months
Asian Tour
Josh Ball
Josh Ball
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Taichi Kho begins his second season as a professional golfer this week, carrying a “deep, inner-rooted confidence” in his ability to compete at the highest level.

With a schedule built around the Asian Tour and its International Series, Kho will also have several opportunities to play on the DP World Tour this year, and having experienced the Open Championship once is focused on returning to the game’s biggest stage of all.
The Hongkonger has already won on the Asian Tour, the first golfer from the city to do so, and added a historic gold at the Asian Games before capping off an impressive rookie season by finishing in the top 10 on the tour’s order of merit.

And while feeling a mix of “anticipation, nerves and excitement” for the year ahead, Kho said he was ready to embrace all the emotions that typically come before a tournament, the first of which is the Malaysian Open starting on Thursday.

Taichi Kho tees off on the sixth hole during the second round of the LIV Golf Promotions event at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Photo: Asian Tour.
“Last year was quite experimental and, you know, doing everything for the first time, it’s quite nerve wracking,” said the 23-year-old, who was born in November 2000, a Year of the Dragon.

“With all the experiences last year, I feel like, naturally, different kinds of anxiety reveal themselves before the season starts, or before tournaments begin, and they’re obviously still there.

“But one of the biggest things I learned last year is bottling up any insecurities or anxieties is just not good for my golf, or for me as a person. I’m doing a much better job of acknowledging anytime I’m uncomfortable, and being a lot more OK with being uncomfortable.”

There will be plenty of opportunities for Kho to test himself against some of the best in the game. After Malaysia comes International Series Oman, with a field including the likes of Australian Open winner Joaquin Niemann, who made a fast start to his LIV Golf season, shooting a 59 in Mayakoba.

At the series’ second stop of the year, in Macau, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Anirban Lahiri are all expected to be in an all-star field at a tournament that will be Kho’s fourth in five weeks.

Graeme McDowell (left) and Taichi Kho answer questions from the press ahead of the Asian Tour’s Volvo China Open in November, 2023. Photo: Asian Tour.

From there, his 2024 DP World Tour journey, which began at the Australian Open in December, continues on the Asian swing at the Singapore Open, ISPS Handa Championship and Volvo China Open.

“The more I play outside my comfort zone, the better I become. And I know I’ll have a lot of opportunity to do that this year,” Kho said.

“The DP tour is definitely a great place to play and competition’s strong out there. And just having the opportunity to play some of those events is great, because there’s a chance I won’t even need to go to Q-school if I play well in those.”

With the World City Championship triumph securing his Asian Tour status, playing on the European circuit is just part of Kho’s plan for the next 11 months.

LIV Golf is still there, and it would be a surprise if he were not offered the opportunity to be involved when the team competition arrives in Hong Kong the week before the International Series goes to Macau.

And despite the wrangling between those at the top of the game, the Hongkonger said he was just keeping his options “as wide as possible”.

“I don’t know what pro golf is going to look like in two years time, but as of right now, you keep your options open and I think it’s a pretty good time to be a pro golfer,” he said.

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