Masters, Open spots beckon
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 the official world rankings.
Voke recently graduated from Iowa State University after an impressive stint in the US.
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 the 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.
The Wellingtonian hopes local knowledge can play to the New Zealanders’ advantage in October.
‘‘It’s usually the windiest time of year for us so it will be interesting to see how that affects the course. It’s also not that warm so the ball won’t be travelling that far and it can be a bit softer so it will play quite long,’’ Hillier said. ‘‘The wind swirls around the course so that trips up a few people. One shot could be straight into it; one shot could be straight down. You just have to make sure you know where the wind’s coming from when you hit your shot.’’
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 who is permitted 10 in a field of 120.