There are 25 places at stake in the second stage of qualifying at Royal Auckland and Cromwell on March 9.
There are four first-stage events today, with 68 players registered to play at Whitford Park in Auckland, 16 at Paraparaumu in Wellington, 36 at Shirley in Christchurch and 10 at Chisholm Park.
Because of the small number of entries, only two players will go forward to the final qualifying from the Dunedin event.
With a few more entries, this could be boosted to three places but the $50 registration fee means only serious contenders are likely to boost the field.
Today's event has attracted two club professionals, Cody Harper, from Invercargill, and Michael Weastell, from Kelvin Heights in Queenstown.
Of the eight amateurs, Jeremy Hall and Scott Hellier come from Southland, while Aorangi No 1 Cameron Grant plays in Ashburton.
Of the five Otago players, only Nick Borren (Otago) was a member of the Otago team which finished second in the interprovincial at St Andrews in Hamilton last December.
Michael Smith (Otago) is throwing his hat in the ring and hopes to compete in the open for the second time.
Three years ago, Smith shot 67 at Russley in Christchurch in the qualifying event to gain a start in New Zealand's top tournament.
