An attempt to break the course record at the Middlemarch Golf Club has drawn some top golfers to the small club tomorrow.
The Middlemarch Golf Club Course Record challenge will be an attempt to beat the 66 set by Wanaka professional Alan Rose in 2012.
Middlemarch Golf Club’s club captain Stacey Atkinson said the club wanted to create an event with a difference that would attract a strong field, and it has.
It will be the strongest field the club has assembled in its 95-year history.
A 21-man field from all over the southern region will be spearheaded by former New Zealand Open winner Mahal Pearce (Otago).
Other accomplished players include Matt Tautiri (Invercargill), Jacob Bellamy (Port Chalmers), who finished sixth at the South Island Amateur Champs, Rose, Callum Judkins (Queenstown), Duncan Croudis (Otago) and Phil Bungard (Island Park).
They will all be chasing a 65 on the nine-hole course. There are two par-5s on the course — the first and last hole. Par is 72.
While eminently achievable by a high-quality field if conditions are hard and fast on the essentially flat layout, it will definitely be no pushover. The major challenges are the small greens and trees to avoid.
An incentive for the players will be a winner’s bonus of $500 in vouchers if the record is beaten.
- Neville Idour, additional reporting Steve Hepburn
