Australian golfer Katherine Kirk, fresh off her victory on the LPGA Tour last month in the United Stated, has confirmed her start in the New Zealand Women’s Open.
Kirk won the Thornberry Creek Classic in Wisconsin from July 6-9 to take her career earnings to more than $NZ6 million.
The New Zealand Women’s Open, sponsored by McKayson, will be held at Windross Farm golf course in south Auckland from September 28-October 1. The tournament has become part of the LPGA Tour and is the first time New Zealand has staged such an event.
Kirk, who played in the 2009 New Zealand Women’s Open, is from Queensland but these days is based at Kansas in the United States.  Her win in Wisconsin saw her vault  69 spots on the world rankings and jump inside the top 30 for the LPGA Tour league standings, known as the Race to the CME Globe.
She was thrilled with the victory and the opportunity to return to New Zealand.
“This was an unexpected win. I am totally stoked,’’ Kirk said.
``This boosts my order of merit standings and world rankings and I am excited about that. It is so hard to win out here now.
“I love New Zealand. I’ve been there a bunch of times and even honeymooned there. I am excited they have a national championship back on the calendar. Auckland will be a great venue and I am sure we will get great crowds and it will be fun.
“New Zealand is the outdoor capital of the world – great hiking, fishing, golfing … they have it all. And the people are very friendly. My husband is going to come down and we are going to stay a little extra and do some sightseeing and maybe play some extra golf.”
Kirk said that New Zealand golf fans will be in for a treat to see the world’s best woman golfers in action.
“We have a lot more young guns out here now than when I first joined the tour. It’s been great for the game. There’s way more people interested and the girls are getting excited about turning pro and coming out here to play.
“They will definitely put on a great show.”
New Zealand Women’s Open tournament director Michael Goldstein welcomed the fact that another 2017 LPGA winner will join the field at Windross Farm.
“Katherine has been a star performer who has been a positive supporter ever since we announced the tournament,’’ Goldstein said.
“There will be a number of top Australians heading to this tournament and with the way that Katherine has performed last week (in Wisconsin), she is capable of winning in New Zealand.”
Hospitality packages for the New Zealand Women’s Open are now on sale with three options to choose from. Also a limited number of four-day season passes are available at $99 plus booking fee. Single day passes are available at $39 for Thursday and Friday and $49 per day for Saturday and Sunday – both plus booking fee.