NZ Open attracts large field from Japan Tour
The field for the New Zealand Open is taking shape with more than 20 players from the Japan Tour confirming they will be in Arrowtown for the 93rd instalment of the event in March.
Among the Japanese contingent confirmed for the Open, which will be played at Millbrook Resort and The Hills between March 9-12, are leading players Yusaku Miyazato, Shunsuke Sonoda, Toshinori Muto, Yoshi Fujimoto, Daisuke Kataoka and Ryutaro Nagano.
While not household names in New Zealand, the sextet have secured 16 wins between them on the Japan Golf Tour, and boast a combined career earnings of about NZ $26 million.
Sonoda and Fujimoto finished third and fifth respectively at last year’s event, and are expected to again contend for the NZ Open title. With three wins to his credit on the Japan tour, 36-year-old Miyazato, who finished second on the Japan Order of Merit in 2015, is another to watch.
As is excitement machine Kataoka, who produced a string of big performances last year, particularly in winning the Top Cup Tokai Classic.
He also had second-placed finishes in the Fujisankei Classic and The Crowns among his nine top-10 finishes for the year.
Last month, Korean YE Yang, the first Asian-born male golfer to win a major, was confirmed in the field to contest the NZ $1 million tier one event on the PGA Tour of Australasia, in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour.
In this year’s event, the par-71 Millbrook course will take over from The Hills as the event’s primary course.
All players will play both courses over the first two rounds, before the final two rounds are held at Milbrook.
Like last year, a pro-am title will also be contested.
Elite players will compete in both the Open and, paired with amateurs, for the pro-am title (best-ball scoring format).
Olympic shot put bronze medallist Tom Walsh was last week confirmed to play the format.
While the elite field will be cut to 60 plus ties after the first two rounds, the pro-am field will be cut to 40 for round three and 10 for the final round.