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Dame Lydia Ko will get a rare chance to dazzle the greens at home next year.
The Olympic champion and three-time major winner will headline the return of the New Zealand Women’s Open at the Wainui club, near Auckland, from March 18 to 21 next year.
After a 10-year hiatus, the tournament, co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and WPGA Tour of Australasia, makes a welcome return next year, featuring a pro-am on March 17 followed by four days of championship golf.
It will feature a 132-player field vying for a purse of $808,000.
Ko, an LPGA Hall of Fame member, won the NZ Open in 2013, 2015 and 2016 — the first as an amateur at 15 and the last as the world’s top-ranked player, becoming the first player to defend the crown.
“Playing in front of a home crowd in New Zealand is always something really special to me, and I’m thrilled the New Zealand Women’s Open is back,’’ Ko said.
“I grew up on the North Shore, so to have an event of this calibre at Wainui, just up the road, makes it feel even more like home.
“To return with the strength of the Ladies European Tour and WPGA Tour of Australasia behind it is fantastic for the game here, and I can’t wait to tee it up in March.’’
Golf New Zealand has secured places in the field for some of New Zealand’s best young amateurs and professionals, who are not already exempt, including the winner of the New Zealand Māori title.
It also opens an opportunity for alumni from the Lydia Ko Scholarship mentorship programme to join the field, including LET players Amelia Garvey and Momoka Kobori, Epson Tour’s Fiona Xu and NCAA collegiate players Vivian Lu and Eunseo Choi.
Golf New Zealand chief executive Jeff Latch is delighted the championship is returning.
“There is nothing quite like seeing the best players in the world up close; watching how they carry themselves, how they compete, and we know that for a young girl standing greenside at Wainui, that experience can be the spark that starts a lifelong love of the game,’’ Latch said.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our own players, from our leading professionals to the amateurs in the field, to test themselves against the very best in the world right here at home. Competing on this stage, in front of New Zealand crowds, is exactly the kind of experience that helps develop the next generation of talent.”
The tournament has returned with the backing of the government’s New Zealand Major Events and Auckland Council Events funds.
The 2027 Open will mark the first year of a four-year event agreement between the partners, securing the championship’s place on the calendar through to 2030.
Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said support from the Major Events Fund reflected the wider value of events such as the NZ Open to the economy.
“Alongside attracting visitors to see Dame Lydia Ko compete in Auckland, the broadcast coverage will showcase our spectacular golf courses and landscapes to global audiences, reinforcing New Zealand’s reputation as a world-class golfing destination.’’
The Wainui course, near Silverdale, was once known as the Peninsula Golf Club. It relocated inland and reopened in 2016. It hosted the 2018 Masters on the PGA Tour of Australasia. — Allied Media