The Autex Muriwai Open is back on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour calendar after being postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year.

The event will now take place from July 30 – August 2 after originally being scheduled for April.

New Zealand Golf General Manager for Championships and Golf Operations Dave Mangan says the return of tournament golf on the New Zealand golfing calendar is exciting for the sport in the country.

“New Zealand Golf really appreciates that Muriwai Golf Club have been so proactive in getting the postponed Autex Muriwai Open rescheduled so quickly. We are fortunate that the Muriwai Golf Club is a great all year round venue and the turf quality in winter will still be very good.

“The July window will likely throw up some different challenges for the players and for us, but it’s something that we’re looking forward too. It’s great to have tournament golf back on the horizon,” Mangan says.

Muriwai Golf Club General Manager Andrew Jackson is delighted that the clubs flagship event is back on the calendar this year.

“We are very pleased to announce that The Autex Muriwai Open has been rescheduled. The hard work that went into the postponed event due to the lockdown was not in vain.

“I would like to thank our sponsors for their patience and support during these difficult times. This is Muriwai Golf Club’s flagship event and both the club and Autex are extremely proud to support the Jennian Homes Charles Tour.

“We are looking forward to seeing you all on the links in July,” Jackson says.

One man with fond memories of the Autex Muriwai Open is two-time Autex Muriwai Open winner Michael Hendry.

He says he can’t wait to get tournament golf back underway.

“The biggest thing now in the world we’re currently living in is having somewhere to play and something to work towards. Having events to play is such an advantage now as there is so few to play in with the world seemingly shut down.

“A strong side effect of tournament play in New Zealand getting back underway is having really strong fields, but when the world opens back up for the players heading back overseas, we’ll be better prepared and hopefully that means we’ll see some good results from Kiwi golfers because of the ability to be able to play in Jennian Homes Charles Tour events,” Hendry says.

He’s looking forward to the different challenge Muriwai poses in the winter.

“It will play a lot more difficult. Muriwai is a great golf course but when the wind is cold and potentially wet conditions the course will play quite long and tricky unless we get extremely lucky with the weather.

“It will be a challenge for sure,” he says.