The European Tour makes an historic first visit to New Zealand this week when an impressive field lines up at Gulf Harbour Country Club, Auckland, for the 88th staging of the Holden New Zealand Open, including two Major Champions in Scotland's Paul Lawrie and Australian Wayne Grady.
Lawrie, winner of the 1999 Open Championship and Grady, the 1990 US PGA Champion, are joined by a host of champions from both The European and Australasian Tours, including the last two winners on The European Tour International Schedule in Craig Parry, of Australia, who won the Heineken Classic after a dramatic play-off at Royal Melbourne on Sunday, and England’s Nick Dougherty, winner of the previous week’s Caltex Masters, presented by Carlsberg, Singapore 2005. Parry is one of eight past champions of the Holden New Zealand Open, having lifted the title in 2002.
That list includes New Zealand’s top ranked golfer, Michael Campbell, winner of six titles on The European Tour International Schedule and the 2000 Holden New Zealand Open, and last year's winner, Terry Price, of Australia.
Lawrie is one of seven Ryder Cup players making the journey to the Whangaparoa Peninsula in Auckland, lining up alongside the Swedish quartet of Niclas Fasth, Pierre Fulke, Joakim Haeggman and Jarmo Sandelin, England’s Barry Lane and Italy’s Costantino Rocca.
For Rocca, in particular, the week will bring back happy memories of the 1998 World Cup at Gulf Harbour Country Club when he joined forces with Massimo Florioli in leading Italy to second place behind the England team of Nick Faldo and David Carter, their best showing in the World Cup before it came under the umbrella of the World Golf Championships. Two other veterans from the 1998 World Cup, Peter O’Malley and Richard Green, who represented Australia, will also be returning to Gulf Harbour this week.
The field is further enhanced by the last two winners of the PGA Championship, Scott Drummond, of Scotland, and Anders Hansen, of Denmark.
The event, joint sanctioned by The European Tour and Australasian Tour for the first time, carries a prize fund of € NZ$ 1.5 million, double the previous year’s purse. Gulf Harbour Country Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr, opened in 1997 and will be staging the event for the first time
On announcing it’s inclusion on The 2005 European Tour International Schedule last year, George O’Grady, Executive Director of The European Tour, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Holden New Zealand Open to The European Tour International Schedule for the first time, further enhancing our relationship with the PGA Tour of Australasia with a new national Open in their region. We have long term plans and look forward to continuing to develop the Holden New Zealand Open in years to come.”
