Fifteen of them recently played a round at Jack’s Point, with ‘people’s player’ champion Steve Brownlie being decided by match-play competition featuring the top eight players.
Brownlie, who’s almost 50 and has lived in Queenstown for 20 years, says ‘‘it’s definitely got Happy Gilmore vibes to it’’.
As for his winning formula, ‘‘I stopped drinking after the first round’’, he quips.
‘‘I just flushed everything, I just caught them all sweet.’’
On a 10 handicap, Brownlie says he played golf growing up in Scotland, and nowadays plays with his son, who’s with Futures Whakatipu, on a parent membership.
He says it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be playing the NZ Open — ‘‘I’d never pay that kind of money, I wouldn’t have that kind of money’’.
Paired with American pro Chris Malec, he says ‘‘I’m going to be packing it, hopefully my years of playing golf hold me in good stead’’.
His mates intend watching him from Millbrook’s new NZ Open hospo venue, The Landing, while one of them, Ben Farrell, will be on his bag.
He tees off on the Coronet 18 today at 2.19pm and on the Remarkables 18 at 9.19am tomorrow.
