American professional Rocco Mediate will play alongside the Prime Minister at The Hills tomorrow, despite withdrawing from the New Zealand Open pro-am.
Mediate did not make the Open cut but he and partner Mark Richardson made the pro-am cut.
Mediate pulled out of the pro-am this morning after waking with some "aches and pains".
He still intends to play with John Key and Sir Bob Charles in a group teeing off at 9.30am tomorrow.
Tournament director Michael Glading said it was a shame Mediate could not play today but it was understandable given he had endured miserable weather conditions in the second round.
"That second round will go down as one of the toughest days in NZ Open history," Glading said.
"It was snowing not far from the course so it isn't surprising that there were some casualties.
"Rocco has been a fantastic guy to deal with in his time here in New Zealand and we have loved having him at the tournament. It is going to be great that he can finish off his time at the New Zealand Open on a high, playing alongside our Prime Minister and our most famous golfer."
