There may be a ''cricket focus'' on the celebrity amateurs in next year's New Zealand Open which will have a purse of $1 million, one of the richest in the country's history.
At last night's official launch of the tournament at The Cloud in Auckland, organising committee chairman John Hart said announcements about celebrities would be made in the next few months.
However, given next year's Cricket World Cup would be held in New Zealand, it was likely some of those players would take part in the Open.
''These guys won't make any commitments until, probably, January - we will wait.
''We're continuing a lot of dialogue. We're trying to create not just a golf tournament - we're trying to create an event.
''We're not going to get into a situation where we start paying appearance money to attract [big] players ... who will break us.''
It was announced last night tournament funding had also hit a new high.
Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce yesterday announced a Government contribution of nearly $1 million a year for the next two years.
The Major Events Development Fund would invest $700,000 per annum in the tournament and the Government would invest up to $250,000 per year towards television production and distribution.
That amount would be matched by event promoter Michael Hill Tournaments Ltd, to ensure a live broadcast to a worldwide audience and support wider commercial objectives.
Hart said the purse, up from $900,000 this year, solidified the championship as one of the pre-eminent tournaments in the Asia-Pacific region.
The tier one event on the PGA Tour of Australasia would continue its partnership with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation for 2015, with 15 spaces reserved for leading JGTO professionals.
''There are some great players on the Japanese tour ... Japan has become a core partner in the growth of this tournament. To get some of their leading players ... to play here will be really, really impressive.''
The professional field of up to 144 players will play the first two rounds alternately at The Hills and Millbrook before the midway cut of 60 plus ties.
The final two rounds will be played at The Hills.
The Pro-Am will run concurrently to the main tournament, with 144 amateurs partnered with professionals, playing in a best-ball format.
Following a second-round cut the top 40 pro-am teams will progress to the third round at The Hills, with a further cut to the top 10 teams to play in the final round.
The BMW Group was announced as naming rights sponsor for the 2015 Open, which Hart believes is a ''statement of support'' for the unique format of the reinvigorated Queenstown tournament.
However, organisers were in no rush to include Jacks Point in the Pro-Am, spreading the tournament over three courses.
''At one stage we looked at having Jacks Point. It wasn't right for them at that time.
''They are still part of our tournament, I think we're happy with two [main courses] at the moment ... but never say never.''
