Hills pro-am comes of age

By Neville Idour

For the first time the annual Hills Invitational Pro-Am played at Sir Michael Hill’s Arrowtown course will be a PGA-sanctioned event.

This unique 2020 tournament is scheduled for December 19 and 20 and has drawn a very strong field.

Working in conjunction with the New Zealand Professional Golfers’ Association (NZPGA), tournament director, Craig Palmer, from The Hills, revealed the qualifying criteria that has produced a quality field of 20 players.

The top 10 on the PGA order of merit, following October's Charles Tour event in New Plymouth, gained automatic entry.

“It was also decided to invite the winner of the PGA Club Professional Championship and the winner of the PGA Trainee Championship,” Palmer said.

The order of merit qualifiers are Luke Toomey, Kieran Muir, Daniel Hillier, Josh Geary, Harry Bateman, Ryan Chisnall, Michael Hendry, Jordan Loof, Gareth Paddison and Harry Na. Dongwoo Kang, who successfully defended his club pro title, also booked his place. The trainee championship qualifier will not be known until the 2020 event on December 6.

The remaining spots are invited by The Hills. This year they are defending champion Mark Brown, former winners James Anstiss, Daniel Pearce, plus Fraser Wilkin, Craig Palmer, Fraser Maclachlan and Ben Campbell who is making his comeback from injury and surgery.

The field is full of many former winners and Charles Tour winners so the battle for the winner's purse of $10,000 is sure to be intense. With a total purse of $50,000 it sits alongside the Charles Tour purses. The difference is the field size of 20 compared with 60 plus ties who make the cut at a Charles Tour event. With the forced cancellation of the New Zealand Open, events like this take on more importance, as opportunity is key for aspiring New Zealand professionals.

Essentially this will still be a fun weekend with 60 Hills club members joining the professionals to make 20 four-man teams in the pro-am format.