Masters, Open spots up for grabs

Dreams of Augusta National and Carnoustie can start now for New Zealand’s top-10 men’s amateur golfers.

New Zealand Golf has confirmed the 10 names to contest the Asia-pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Wellington from October 26-29 which carries amateur golf’s ultimate prize.

The winner of the tournament, which will draw the leading amateurs from Australia, Japan, Korea, China and Thailand among 40 competing nations, gains direct entry to next year’s Masters Tournament and Open Championship.

Us-based Aucklander Nick Voke - the country’s highestranked at 61 in the world - heads the lineup which was based largely on official world rankings.

Tasman’s Ryan Chisnall (75) and Wellington’s Daniel Hillier (93) are the other New Zealanders inside the top 100 and are back from playing top US tournaments.

Their best results were in the Southern Amateur where Hillier was tied for 15th and Chisnall tied for 23rd. The latter narrowly missed the top-16 at the prestigious Western Amateur, while Voke qualified third-equal before bowing out in the quarterfinals.

Hillier finished 15th in last year’s APAC in South Korea, the third-best Kiwi after third-placed Luke Toomey (now turned pro)

and Voke who was 11th behind Australian winner Curtis Luck who was second-top amateur at the Masters in April.

Making up the New Zealand contingent is Us-based quartet Denzel Ieremia, James Anstiss, Henry Spring and Charlie Hillier who will all make the trip back to Wellington in October.

The team is rounded out by New Zealand Strokeplay champion Mark Hutson, Northland’s Luke Brown and Wellington’s Kerry Mountcastle.

The tournament began in 2009 and New Zealand’s best finish is third to Peter Spearman-burn (2009), Ben Campbell (2011, behind Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama) and Toomey last year. Teams are restricted to six, apart from the host nation which is permitted 10 in a field of 120.