A capacity field of 105 competitors will tee off in the 72-hole Otago men's strokeplay championship on the Balmacewen course in Dunedin this morning.
Not only has the opening trial event attracted a large field, but low scoring is anticipated looking at the quality of the field, which is strengthened by five of the Southland team which won the Toro interprovincial event in Gisborne in December.
Tyler McLean (Invercargill) is the low marker with an index of -2.7 while his clubmate Cody Harper will be competing in one of his last amateur events before joining the professional ranks.
Liam Balneaves (Greenacres) has a liking for Balmacewen having won at the venue before and holds the current course record, an impressive 9-under-par 62.
Matt Tautari (Queens Park) won all eight games at last year's Toro interprovincial and was named player of the tournament while Scott Hellier (Gore) completes the Southland quintet.
Ryan Chisnall (Nelson) is a highly rated New Zealand junior and is in fifth place on the handicap index list.
Otago No 1 Brent McEwan (St Clair) could be the best bet to stave off the foreign invasion while other local seniors will hope to perform well, staking their claim to a place in the Otago quintet for the SBS tournament in March.
Mitch Bosley, Simon Hollyer (both Wanaka), Tyrone Ratahi (Otago), and Chris Snow (St Clair) will be keen to retain their places while Thomas Facer, Luke Murdoch and Michael Smith (all Otago) will be keen to make an impression after missing out last year.
There is some great news for Otago golf with the return of former No 1 Tony Giles (St Clair) to the competitive scene while Nick Borren (Otago) returns from Canterbury after completing an engineering degree.
Giles (39) has represented New Zealand at junior and senior level and was a member of the national Titleist squad for a decade.
With the Toro at Balmacewen this year, the sports wholesaler is keen to play but will only compete in two of the four trial events as he is going to China on his annual business trip.
Borren is in good form and has every chance to make a good impression, taking up where he left off with a great second placing over four rounds at St Clair in 2008 before moving to Christchurch.
The senior field (handicaps up to 2.7) is enhanced by the inclusion of four promising Queenstown juniors with Jamie Anstiss, Chadol Han, SungWoo Han and Samson Kim who have the opportunity to compete against Otago's best away.
This event will be followed by three more trials with the Otago team named after the 72-hole event at St Clair on February 18 and 19.
