- New Zealand Open
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For other uses, see New Zealand Open (disambiguation).
New Zealand Open Tournament information Location Christchurch, New Zealand Established 1907 Course(s) The Clearwater Resort Par 72 Length 7,137 yards Tour(s) PGA Tour of Australasia Format Stroke play Prize fund $500,000 Month played December Tournament record score Aggregate 262 Rodger Davis (1986) Current champion Bobby Gates The BMW New Zealand Open is the leading men's golf tournament in New Zealand. In 2011, it will be hosted by The Clearwater Resort in Christchurch from 1–4 December. The tournament is being promoted by New Zealand Golf. It will be the first major sporting event to come to Christchurch since the earthquake in February.
From 2007 to 2010 the tournament was played at The Hills Golf Club in Arrowtown, near Queenstown, although it was not held in 2008 due to the rescheduling of the event from December to March.
The documented history of golf in New Zealand dates back to 1871. The first national championship was played in 1893 and the New Zealand Open was founded in 1907. The first Open was a 36 hole event played at Napier Golf Club and was won by four times New Zealand amateur champion Arthur Duncan. In 1908 the tournament was extended to 72 holes, and was won by J.A. Clements, the first notable New Zealand born professional golfer. There were no Opens in 1915-1918 due to World War I. For the first twenty years amateurs often won, but as professionals began to dominate from around 1930, so the Bledisloe Cup for leading amateur was introduced in 1934.
The event was again cancelled from 1940 to 1945 due to World War II. In 1954 Bob Charles, who was later to become the only New Zealander to win a major championship in the 20th century, won as an eighteen year old amateur. He won again in 1966, 1971 and 1973, as a professional, and he and the two Australian major champions Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle dominated the event from the early 1950s to the mid 1970s. Other well known winners have included the American Corey Pavin in 1984 and 1985, and Michael Campbell in 2000. In 2002 Tiger Woods took part as a thank you to his New Zealand caddie Steve Williams, but he did not win. His participation caused some controversy when ticket prices were raised sharply that year.[1]
The New Zealand Open is a PGA Tour of Australasia tournament, and in 2005 was co-sanctioned for the first time by the more prestigious European Tour, which led to a doubling of the prize fund to 1.5 million New Zealand Dollars. The European Tour had co-sanctioned PGA Tour of Australasia events before, but they had all been in Australia, making this the tours first ever visit to New Zealand. In 2006 the event was moved to November, taking its place on the European Tour schedule for the following calendar year. The 2007 event was the last to be co-sanctioned by the European Tour, and with the tournament being rescheduled to March, there was also no New Zealand Open on the 2008 Australasian Tour. The 2009 and 2010 tournaments were also co-sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour, the official development tour of the PGA Tour. In 2011 it will sit solely on the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Winners
Year Winner Country Score BMW New Zealand Open 2011 Michael Hill New Zealand Open 2010 Bobby Gates United States 274 (-14) 2009 Alex Prugh United States 269 (-19) 2008 No tournament due to rescheduling 2007 Richard Finch England 274 (-14) Blue Chip New Zealand Open 2006 Nathan Green Australia 279 (-5) Holden New Zealand Open 2005 Niclas Fasth Sweden 266 (-22)PO 2004 Terry Price Australia 271 (-9) 2003 Mahal Pearce New Zealand 278 (-10) New Zealand Open 2002 Craig Parry Australia 273 (-11) 2001 David Smail New Zealand 273 (-7) 2000 Michael Campbell New Zealand 269 (-15)PO 1999 No tournament 1998 Matthew Lane New Zealand 279 1997 Greg Turner New Zealand 278 1996 Michael Long New Zealand 275 1995 (Dec) Peter O'Malley Australia 272 1995 (Jan) Lucas Parsons Australia 282 1994 Craig Jones Australia 277 1993 Peter Fowler Australia 274 1992 Grant Waite New Zealand 268 1991 Rodger Davis Australia 273 1990 No tournament 1989 Greg Turner New Zealand 277 1988 Ian Stanley Australia 273 1987 Ronan Rafferty Northern Ireland 279 PO 1986 Rodger Davis Australia 262 1985 Corey Pavin United States 277 1984 Corey Pavin United States 269 1983 Ian Baker-Finch Australia 280 1982 Terry Gale Australia 284 1981 Bob Shearer Australia 285 1980 Buddy Allin United States 274 1979 Stewart Ginn Australia 278 1978 Bob Shearer Australia 277 1977 Bob Byman United States 290 1976 Simon Owen New Zealand 284 1975 Bill Dunk Australia 272 1974 Bob Gilder United States 283 PO 1973 Bob Charles New Zealand 283 1972 Bill Dunk Australia 279 1971 Peter Thomson Australia 276 1970 Bob Charles New Zealand 271 1969 Kel Nagle Australia 273 1968 Kel Nagle Australia 272 1967 Kel Nagle Australia 275 1966 Bob Charles New Zealand 173 1965 Peter Thomson Australia 178 1964 Kel Nagle Australia 266 1963 Bruce Devlin Australia 273 1962 Kel Nagle Australia 281 1961 Peter Thomson Australia 267 1960 Peter Thomson Australia 281 1959 Peter Thomson Australia 287 PO 1958 Kel Nagle Australia 278 1957 Kel Nagle Australia 294 1956 Harry Berwick (A) Australia 292 1955 Peter Thomson Australia 280 1954 Bob Charles (A) New Zealand 280 1953 Peter Thomson Australia 295 1952 Alex Murray New Zealand 293 1951 Peter Thomson Australia 288 1950 Peter Thomson Australia 280 1949 James Galloway New Zealand 283 1948 Alex Murray New Zealand 294 1947 Bob Glading (A) New Zealand 291 1946 Bob Glading (A) New Zealand 306 PO 1940–45 No tournament due to World War II 1939 John Hornabrook (A) New Zealand 291 1938 Bobby Locke South Africa 288 1937 John Hornabrook (A) New Zealand 299 PO 1936 Andrew Shaw New Zealand 292 1935 Alex Murray New Zealand 286 1934 Andrew Shaw New Zealand 288 1933 Ernie Moss New Zealand 300 PO 1932 Andrew Shaw New Zealand 289 1931 Andrew Shaw New Zealand 287 1930 Andrew Shaw New Zealand 284 1929 Andrew Shaw New Zealand 299 1928 Sloan Morpeth (A) New Zealand 303 1927 Ernie Moss New Zealand 300 1926 Andrew Shaw New Zealand 307 PO 1925 Ewen MacFarlane (A) New Zealand 308 1924 Ernie Moss New Zealand 301 1923 A. Brooks New Zealand 312 1922 A. Brooks New Zealand 308 1921 E.S. Douglas New Zealand 302 1920 Joe Kirkwood, Sr. New Zealand 304 1919 E.S. Douglas New Zealand 327 PO 1915–18 No tournament due to World War I 1914 E.S. Douglas New Zealand 313 1913 E.S. Douglas New Zealand 303 1912 J.A. Clements New Zealand 322 1911 Arthur Duncan (A) New Zealand 319 1910 Arthur Duncan (A) New Zealand 295 1909 J.A. Clements New Zealand 324 1908 J.A. Clements New Zealand 335 1907 Arthur Duncan (A) New Zealand 159 References
- ^ "Woods drives up New Zealand Open ticket prices". CBC Sports. 11 July 2001. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2001/07/11/woods010711.html. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
External links
- Official site
- Coverage on the Nationwide Tour's official site
- Coverage on the European Tour's official site
PGA Tour of Australasia events Tournaments in playing order
Subaru Victorian Open · Cellarbrations Victorian PGA Championship · Johnnie Walker Classic (A,E) · Moonah Classic (N) · New Zealand PGA Championship (N) · Michael Hill New Zealand Open (N) · John Hughes Geely WA Open Championship · Cellarbrations Queensland PGA Championship · JBWere Masters (E) · Cellarbrations New South Wales PGA Championship · New South Wales Open · Australian Open · Australian PGA Championship(A) - co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. (E) - co-sanctioned by the European Tour. (N) - co-sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour.Categories:- PGA Tour of Australasia events
- Nationwide Tour events
- Former European Tour events
- Golf tournaments in New Zealand
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