Former professional baseball player Masumi Kuwata arrived in Queenstown on Sunday before this year's pro-am at Millbrook Resort and The Hills, near Arrowtown, during which he will be paired with Toshi Muto.
And while Muto - making his fifth consecutive appearance at the tournament - has six career victories and winnings of more than $7 million, his amateur partner is also no slouch on the golf course.
Kuwata (49), inspired by his father, started playing baseball in Japan at the tender age of 2 and as a teenager led his team to five Koshien tournaments.
Ian Kennedy, the former New Zealand ambassador to Japan who is an adviser to the tournament, said most Japanese schoolboys would ``kill'' to play in the national high school tournament just once.
In 1985, Kuwata, a right-handed pitcher, was drafted in the first round by the Yomiuri Giants for whom he played for 21 seasons, before moving to the United States where he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, making his Major League debut in 2007 at the age of 39.
He retired from the sport the following year and was accepted into Waseda University's Graduate School of Sport Sciences, graduating first in his class.
At Millbrook yesterday, Kuwata said he dabbled in golf during the short baseball off-seasons, but after he retired he started focusing on it more.
``Golf was something he always loved, but being a professional baseball player, the off-season was only about two or three months a year,'' Kennedy said.
``Once he retired, he had the year to play golf.''
Kennedy said organisers of this year's tournament, which begins on Thursday, wanted to attract a player from Japan with a high profile and Kuwata - who is now studying towards a Phd - was an obvious choice.
Organisers made an approach through a mutual friend, Makoto Kinjo, the president of Anzco Foods in Japan.
``Through that contact we were able to meet with Kuwata-san in Tokyo and said `how about it?' Fortunately, he said yes.''
Kuwata, who has a longstanding relationship with Providence Wines, travelled to Matakana, north of Auckland, annually during the harvest, but this was his first visit to ``beautiful'' Queenstown.
With a handicap of ``only 6'', Kuwata said he was excited to learn from the professionals, but was worried the fairways - narrower than he was used to - would see him end up in the rough.
Kuwata is one of 14 celebrity amateurs playing in this week's Open. Others include Olympic gold medallist and America's Cup sailor Sir Russell Coutts, Olympic shot put medallist Tom Walsh, and New Zealand's most-capped hockey player Ryan Archibald.
Tournament director Michael Glading said the amateur and celebrity format of the tournament was unique because it boasted world-class golfers playing for $1 million in prizemoney, and also 140 amateur players who got to play alongside the professionals.
``Adding sporting and other celebrities really adds an extra dimension to our unique event, and spectators love spotting those famous faces in amongst the pros.
``The entertainment factor is huge, enjoyed by die-hard golf fans and those along for a great day out.''
