The world’s best golfers are coming to play in our own backyard this year.
Tickets have gone on sale for the McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open to be played at Windross Farm Golf Course at Ardmore, south Auckland, from September 28-October 1.
Half of the 5000 season tickets were swallowed up in the first week of going on sale, coinciding with a marketing campaign featuring world No 1 Lydia Ko as playing in her own backyard.
The tournament is part of the LPGA Tour, the world’s richest golf circuit for women, and is part of a global development of the women’s game. It will be the 17th international stop for the LPGA in it’s 34-tournament season.
Sean Pyun, the LPGA’s managing director of international business affairs, said: “The LPGA has embarked on a strategy to grow the game at all levels.
“Auckland will be our 17th tournament outside of USA and we continue to have record numbers of girls taking up the game around the globe.”
The 2017 LPGA Tour started in the Bahamas, continues to Australia, Thailand and Singapore before returning to North America. It mixes North and South America and Europe with US events through the middle of the year until September with a marquee event in France, followed by seven weeks starting in New Zealand before heading to China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan before the Tour Championship in Florida.
Pyun added: “We can’t sit in the States and say we’re a global tour.
“I think we owe it to all the fans around the world who watch the LPGA — which is now distributed to over 150 countries — to really go out there.”
This was highlighted with nearly 22 million viewers having watched women’s golf coverage on Golf Channel and NBC in 2016 which was a massive 41 percent increase on 2015. It contributed to Golf Channel on NBC drawing the largest US broadcast golf audience in 2016.
So expect plenty of the world’s best to venture to New Zealand as the start of the Asian swing.
Organisers are keen to make sure it is an experience to remember for golf fans.
The season passes are $99 which is excellent value for money for four rounds of top qualify golf. Single day tickets are also available at $39 for Thursday and Friday and $49 for Saturday and Sunday.
New Zealand Women’s Open promoter Michael Goldstein said: “It is important for us that golfers and general sports fans will take advantage to see the best female golfers playing right here in our own backyard.
“If golf clubs or groups want to plan to come they should contact us. It is going to be a fantastic occasion.”