New Zealand Open Returns to Queenstown

27 Feb - 2 Mar 2014 The Hills | Millbrook Resort

New Zealand Open Returns to Queenstown

The New Zealand Open is returning to Queenstown next year and is set to be the biggest golfing event hosted in New Zealand for many years.

The tournament, a tier one event on the PGA Tour of Australasia, will be held from February 27 to March 2014 at The Hills Golf Course and Millbrook Resort. It will include a unique pro-am format played concurrently with the professional tournament following the principles established for the 2013 NZPGA Championship.

The purse for the event will be a minimum of NZD$850,000 (this figure will be finalised once current stakeholder negotiations have been concluded).

A return to Queenstown is the result of New Zealand Golf (NZ Golf) the PGA of New Zealand (NZPGA) and Michael Hill Tournaments Limited (MHTL) coming to an agreement on the future structure of major men’s golf tournaments in New Zealand.

The parties have agreed to pool resources with the aim of creating one truly iconic golf tournament.

Under the agreement NZ Golf has licenced MHTL to organise and take full responsibility for the New Zealand Open for an initial period of three years.

In addition, the parties have agreed to continue to stage an annual NZPGA Championship, initially on a smaller scale.

Paul Fyfe, the Chairman of New Zealand Golf, noted that this is an important moment for New Zealand’s premier golf tournament.

“The New Zealand Open has a rich and diverse 106 year legacy and we are excited by the potential for the event to flourish in Queenstown,” said Fyfe.

“We believe that this will be a world first for a National Open Championship to incorporate a pro-am format and it will be an exciting new era for the New Zealand Open.”

“We would like to sincerely thank Christchurch City Council and Clearwater Golf Resort for their support over the past two New Zealand Opens. These events have been wonderful for the city and achieved much for the game of golf. Christchurch remains a wonderful place to host golf events and we look forward to working alongside the city to deliver the New Zealand Women’s Open and other events in Christchurch for years to come.”

John Hart, the Tournament Chairman on behalf of MHTL, said this was a landmark agreement by all parties involved.

“We are thrilled that New Zealand Golf and the NZPGA have taken a ‘whole of golf’ approach and have recognised that New Zealanders will be well served by having one premier golf tournament that can compete on an international scale,” said Hart.

“Specifically, we acknowledge the NZPGA for their foresight in supporting the development of this Pro-Am event over the past two years, and for accepting that this transfer to the New Zealand Open is for the betterment of the game and the provision of pathways for elite players in New Zealand.”

Tournament Host Sir Michael Hill echoed Hart’s sentiments.

“Today’s announcement heralds the beginning of a new era of golf in this country. We have the ingredients to develop a legendary tournament and it has my full support and that of my family,” said the owner of The Hills Golf Club who held the NZ Open in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Joining The Hills as a co-host for the 2014 New Zealand Open is the Millbrook Resort.

The Owner of Millbrook Resort Mr Ishii said: “We are very proud to co-host the New Zealand Open and look forward to welcoming visitors from across New Zealand and overseas to watch some great golfers play at Millbrook.”

The new tournament format will be played across two courses with a minimum field of 132 professional golfers playing alongside 132 amateur golfers. Concurrent to the New Zealand Open Championship, a 72 hole strokeplay event, each professional will be paired with an amatuer playing two rounds, one at each course, in a best ball format. Following the second round, a professional and pro-am cut will see the final two rounds played at The Hills.

The success of the tournament structure at The Hills over the past two years has led to the signing of a milestone partnership agreement between MHTL and the Japanese Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

John Hart said: “The partnership agreement with the JGTO signed following a visit to Japan was a major step forward in the internationalisation of the event and towards our vision to create the pre-eminent tournament experience in the Asia Pacific region.”

“The Japan Tour is one of the most lucrative and respected professional tours in the world and we look forward to welcoming 15 leading JGTO players to play in the 2014 NZ Open. We are delighted that the New Zealand Open will become only the third international tournament outside of Japan to have an association with the JGTO.“

The Japanese golfers will join leading professional golfers from New Zealand, Australia and Asia in Queenstown.

New Zealand’s premier world ranked player Michael Hendry, who is a two-time NZPGA Champion at The Hills, is excited about the prospect of contending the NZ Open at The Hills and Millbrook.

“Queenstown is a great venue for professional golf and the players love coming here” said the 33-year-old from North Harbour.

Financially the tournament continues to grow with the Major Events Development Fund indicating they will increase their commitment to NZD$900,000 for the 2014 event.

“We look forward to working alongside Major Events and the Government agencies to ensure the event brings siginificant leverage and legacy benfits to New Zealand” said John Hart.

The existing family of major sponsors for the NZPGA Championship have been retained, and include the Hilton Hotel Queenstown, Michael Hill, Milford Track’s Guided Walks, Rebel Sport, Sky City and Westpac.

They are now joined by new sponsor and long-time supporter of golf in New Zealand, BMW, who has been the naming rights sponsor for the previous two New Zealand Opens at the Clearwater Golf Club in Christchurch.

Hart said that the ongoing support of the Major Events Development Fund, Government and the family of sponsors was crucial to the sustainability of this event.

“We acknowledge the significant commitment they have all made to the tournament and to golf in New Zealand and look forward to hosting them and their guests next February.”

With a number of public initiatives planned on and off the golf course the event is set to bring a festival of golf to Queenstown.

“This is tremendous news both for our local community and also for golfers and visitors who will have the opportunity to watch and play first class golf in one of the most stunning landscapes in the world,” said Queenstown Mayor Vanessa Van Uden.

“I have no doubt that the communities of the Queenstown Lakes District will join with me in celebrating the return of the New Zealand Open to Queenstown’s event calendar.”

Tournament Organisers are approaching professional and celebrity players to participate in the New Zealand Open with further announcements to be made closer to the event.

For past events the celebrities to play at The Hills have included Sir Ian Botham, Hollywood actor Don Cheadle, World No.1 Lydia Ko and a number of sporting icons from Australia, New Zealand and England.

The scheduling change to February 2014 means that no New Zealand Open will be held in the 2013 calendar year. There have been three occasions of this in the history of the NZ Open (1990, 1999 and 2008) and all were due to the rescheduling of the tournament dates.

Plans are underway for the NZPGA Championship in 2014 and there will be a further announcement regarding the dates and the venue of that event in the coming months.

Follow the NZ Open

• www.nzopen.co.nz

• facebook: New Zealand Open

• @nzopengolf

• #NZOpen

NZ Open

• A minimum professional field of 132 players will play the first two rounds alternately at The Hills and Millbrook before the second round cut of 60 + ties.

• The NZ Open Champion will be the leading player after 72 holes of stroke play.

NZ Pro-Am Championship

• The NZ Pro-Am Championship will run concurrently to the main tournament.

• A minimum of 132 amateurs will partner with a professional and play in a best-ball format.

• The top 30 pro-am teams will progress to round 3 at the Hills and the top 10 pro-am teams will progress to play in the final round.

ends

© Scoop Media