Kiwi pro Geary raring to get back into action
Kiwi professional Josh Geary is eager to get back into some top competition at the New Zealand Super 6’s tournament in Palmerston North this weekend.
Geary has status on the European Tour, but due to Covid19 and limited quarantine spots, has been stuck in New Zealand for the past year.
He will line up for the four-day tournament at the Manawatu¯ Golf Club starting on Thursday, the first Charles Tour event of the year.
The tournament consists of three days of stroke play, then match play on the final day on Sunday. Men and women compete against each other.
Geary has played a couple of pro-ams, but his last big tournaments were the Victoria Open in Melbourne and the New Zealand Open in Queenstown.
‘‘I haven’t been travelling since December 2019. It’s a bit of a change of pace for me,’’ he said.
‘‘I’ve still got status in Europe and if the year was a normal year, I might get a dozen starts plus the full Challenge Tour.’’
It had been good to have a proper break, but now he was itching to get back into top competition . He said he wouldn’t be as sharp as usual but was still feeling good.
There were competitions in April he might go to, including tournaments in Kenya and Qatar, but there was no certainty of getting home.
Geary said the Super 6’s is unique with the match play where you can easily get knocked out. He played similar events in Perth and Belgium and liked the format.
Others likely to push for the title include course record holder Luke Toomey, Harry Bateman, Kieran Muir, rookie professional Momoka Kobori and her younger brother, Kazuma. Daniel Hillier will not defend the title he won at the inaugural event last year.
Tara Raj, Lachie Mcdonald and Trent Munn are among the local hopes.
There will be a cut after the second round, and after the third round the top 24 golfers qualify for the match play format, which will be played over six holes.