Strong international presence sought for NZ Open

By Neville Idour

Preparations for the 102nd New Zealand Golf Open at Millbrook Resort in Arrowtown from March 2-5 are well under way, says  tournament director Michael Glading.

 “The team we had, we have obviously lost some because of the hiatus with covid,’’ Glading began to explain.

``They had to make a career change. However those who have signed back on include our two key people.

“Our project leader Mel Gimblett, who has been working on the (car) rallies, is back in golf mode while Sarah Thorpe, who looks after all our amateurs, is back on deck after working on the Commonwealth Games. We lost our head of operations to the insurance business. We have also lost our commercial manager to the Rotary (humanitarium) sector, so those are gaps we are in the process of filling now.”

Glading now turns his attentions offshore.

“The focus now is on player recruitment which sees me in Japan for a tournament where I spend a week. Then I come home for a day before going to the Australian PGA for a week. Another day at home before going to Indonesia for a week.’'

This schedule is followed each year because of the New Zealand Open’s relationship with the Australasian, Japan and Asian PGA Tours.

Are there any specific players in mind?

“Traditionally we have always looked for young up and coming players,’’ Glading adds.

``In recent times we have had Tom Kim (now a PGA star), Sung Jae Im, Cameron Davis and Cameron Smith before he was well known, so that is the type of player we will hope to get. For example there is a young Japanese amateur who has recently won the Japan Open after winning another tournament on the Japan Tour. I don’t know if he would want to come over as an amateur.”

Quite a few of the top Australian players are now on the LIV Tour and able to play on the Asian Tour. Would they be welcome at the New Zealand Open?

“In theory yes. If players are not part of the Australasian or Asian tours I would say no because we are not looking to create controversy. But players who have a standing, for example Cameron Smith, would be welcome. We have talked to the DP World Tour and had that clarified. We are taking a very neutral stance and do not want to upset the apple cart. We are trying to be the Switzerland of golf.

“It is exciting because it is feeling very real again after two years of peaks and troughs. To have some certainty again is fantastic. We are looking at increasing prizemoney from $1.4 million to at least $1.6 million. So we are continuing on our path to keep on growing. If we can go higher we will, but that will depend on gaining more sponsorship.”