It's New Zealand Open Eve here at The Hills (and Millbrook) and, in the immortal words of Bill Lawry, it's all happening.
Golfers are playing their last few practice holes, assistant greenkeepers are bustling around everywhere, and the "19th hole", surrounded by temporary shops and food joints, is falling into place.
And celebrities! Yes, there are celebrities here. Some of them are even reasonably well known.
While the clock ticks down to the first round tomorrow, let's look at an A to Z (minus those annoying letters that are always hard to allocate) of this tournament:
A is for Amateurs. Yes, the New Zealand Open will be chocker with weekend hackers this year as the tournament now has an accompanying pro-am. It will be interesting to see how some of them perform.
B is for Brodie Breeze, the name on the Open trophy. Sounds like a Californian surfer.
C is for Clearwater. The Open was held there twice after it left Arrowtown. Nobody went.
D is for Dual courses. In a first for the Open, it will be held across two courses (The Hills and Millbrook) for the first two days. Should make things interesting.
E is for Emett, Josh. He's in the celebrity field. He's some sort of cook.
F is for Fooorrrre. Which you never hear at a major golf tournament.
G is for Gary Player. The great South African played in the New Zealand Open in 1958, finishing third.
H is for Hashtag. Even the sport of golf has embraced the world of social media. #NZ Open #organisers #have #encouraged #everyone #to #use #hashtags #on #Twitter.
I is for Iwata, Hiroshi. He is one of the Japanese golfers in the field. These guys are the real wildcards of the week.
J is for Josh Geary. He has been the best New Zealander in all three previous Opens held at The Hills.
K is for Ko. See below.
L is for Lydia Ko. If only she was here.
M is for Money. The total prize purse this week is $900,000. The winner takes $153,000. Not bad for a tournament in this little country.
N is for Nine, Coronet. The Greg Turner project at Millbrook is an exciting addition to the Open.
O is for Oh Say Can You See. The last two Opens at The Hills have been won by Americans. The only one in the field this year is Rocco Mediate (see below). So there is a 1-in-136 chance the stars and stripes will be flying on Sunday.
P is for Punter. Ricky Ponting, the Australian cricket great, is a talented golfer and is playing in the pro-am.
R is for Rocco Mediate, the biggest name in the tournament. A lovely guy with a fantastic record.
S is for Signature hole. At The Hills, it is the 17th - The Canyons. You have to see it to believe it.
T is for Tiger Woods. He played in the New Zealand Open in 2002, and cost a LOT of money.
U is for Umbrellas. I would like to guarantee you they won't be required this week but, er, I can't.
V is for Viscount Bledisloe, the chap who presented the Bledisloe Cup (the other one) for the leading amateur at the Open for the first time in 1934.
W is for Winner. It will be . . . a New Zealander. That's all I can say.
Sorry Q, X, Y and Z. The golf world shuns you this week. (This could be bad news for Yong Kwak and Shigeru Yoshifuku).
- The New Zealand Open will be held at The Hills and Millbrook from Thursday to Sunday.
