NZ Open another covid-19 victim

By Neville Idour

While the cancellation of next year's New Zealand Open is lamentable, given the current situation it was the only possible outcome.

Covid-19, quarantine requirements, and no sign of any travel bubbles meant the organising committee, despite every endeavour, had no other options.

To have proceeded in the hope of a change with the lead-up organisational preparations, a late cancellation would have seen a loss of $4 million for co-host Millbrook Resort alone according to tournament director Michael Glading.

The loss of the New Zealand Open, one of New Zealand’s major sporting events, will leave a big hole in the early 2021 sporting calendar. The commitment to the event is so strong that it has already been rescheduled for February 17-20, 2022. After all, it is now recognised and applauded internationally. The other positive is all main sponsors have confirmed their ongoing support.

Organising committee chairman John Hart said: “We are extremely disappointed to have had to come to this decision now, but we had no other alternative.

``With up to 300 international participants coming from offshore, including professional and amateur players, caddies, plus officials of our tour partners, the Australasia, Asian and Japan PGA tours, we needed certainty of accessibility to New Zealand but that was clearly not possible.

“We are particularly disappointed for the Queenstown region which has suffered many setbacks because of covid-19.”

Glading also recognised the huge effect the cancellation will have.

“It is a huge loss for the district, affecting contractors, suppliers, accommodation providers, hospitality and our own organisation and of course the economic windfall from the thousands of people here for the event,” Glading said.

Sky TV, the presenting sponsor, also lost the opportunity to continue showing they can match the best with their sporting coverage. New Zealand itself will lose out on the stunning visuals that would have been presented worldwide and which have been a proven magnet for bringing tourists to the shaky isles. That’s not forgetting the 450 volunteers who make the pilgrimage eagerly each year from all over New Zealand and even some from overseas who will be disappointed, including this writer.

The thought of running it as a local event was never realistic from a quality viewpoint. When I spoke to Glading, he said: “We need to maintain a quality field, with no disrespect to our players. It has taken many years to gradually build the event to one of true international class on the world scene and we cannot afford to let that slip. It is something to be proud of. Also it is probable a New Zealander would not feel right if he won it only as a local event.”

So the Australasian PGA Tour cupboard is now bare after the recent cancellation of all four of Australia’s major tournaments scheduled for early 2021. We can only hope for better times as 2021 unfolds.