Bob each way: Sir Bob Charles at the Legends Pro-Am yesterday at the Kelvin Heights golf course in Queenstown
New Zealand Golf can’t say if Christchurch’s big quake will impact on this week’s decision allotting the Open to Clearwater.
“It’s the furthest thing on my mind,” boss Dean Murphy said yesterday.
Arrowtown’s The Hills – which hosted the last three NZ Opens – still hoped to stage the next one till it was advised otherwise just 20 minutes before Monday’s public announcement.
“We’re just hoping all our staff and golf clubs and members in the Christchurch region are OK,” Murphy says.
“We’ll give everyone the time they need and look at it in a month or so.
“We’ve had a chat to [Clearwater].
“They’re going to take some time to assess any damage but I understand that on the surface they might be OK.
“There’s certainly no issue with The Hills,” he adds.
“It’s a wonderful venue and if there were any issues this year, next year, five years’ time, we’d always be keen to go back there.”
Sam Gent, The Hills’ general manager, tells Mountain Scene that till about two weeks ago she and course owner, jeweller Sir Michael Hill, had hoped to host a tournament on the elite Asian/Pacific OneAsia circuit.
A month ago, they brought over an Australian event organiser to crunch the figures.
They also had Government support, Gent says.
However the problem was The Hills would have to underwrite it to the tune of $NZ5.35 million, including $NZ1.34m in prize money, Gent says.
“Without the support of all parties and major sponsors, we believe it is not something we can take on alone at this time.”
However Hill adds that OneAsia is “a tournament of significant calibre on an international level and something we aspire to be involved with in the future to help showcase NZ at its very best”.
Local developer/golf course designer John Darby – who designed both The Hills and Clearwater – says Queenstown should now organise a tournament to complement the Open.
“Queenstown clearly showed it could host a successful golf event and deliver it to the world in a way that gives great benefit to the whole of NZ.”
The US Masters at Augusta “grew out of the fact that they knew they couldn’t host the US Open”, Darby says.
NZ golfing icon Sir Bob Charles – in town for yesterday’s Legends Pro-Am at Kelvin Heights – says he has divided loyalties.
He has a home at Clearwater and was The Hills’ first member.
“From a spectator’s point of view [The Hills] is unrivalled in the world, let alone NZ.
“It’s a quality golf course in wonderful condition and it’s got all the infrastructure.
“Probably Clearwater is the next best in that regard.”
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