US and NZ champions galore after title

Twelve former champions who have held the Brodie Breeze Trophy 19 times between them, will take part in the 100th New Zealand Open in Queenstown starting tomorrow.

But the man who has yet to lift the trophy will be the one most will have eyes on tomorrow.

With the Open celebrating its 100th edition this week, it would be fitting if a New Zealander bags the title.

But that is easier said than done.

Michael Hendry won at Millbrook two years ago but before that it was a drought. One has to go back to Mahal Pearce, of Dunedin, for the previous home win, at Middlemore in 2003.

The Australians of course, will always mount a serious challenge, and any one of dozens of players from across the ditch could come through and win the title.

Last year, Queenslander Daniel Nisbet came from six shots back at the start of the final day to win and he could be a contender again, coming off a six shot win last weekend at the Queensland PGA.

Also bound to be in the mix are a group of promising Indians, and the Koreans have threatened over the past couple of years but always come up short.

The leading New Zealand contender would appear to be Ryan Fox. Fox, who is ranked 68 in the world, is fresh off a win at the Perth Super Six tournament. He decided to head to the rich WGC tournament in Mexico over the weekend, which finished on Monday (NZ time). He was expected to front the media in Queenstown late today but it is far from ideal build-up - flying halfway round the world and not seeing much of the course before the first day.

Though it is hard to guess who will come out on top on Sunday, it is unlikely anyone will match the record winning score of 27 under set by Nisbet last year.

The rough was short last year and the conditions benign with no wind throughout the four days of play. A wet spring has led to longer rough and the wind is bound to blow at some point.

The Open, first played at the Napier Golf Club in 1907, has attracted a record three former Major champions in US PGA winner Y.E. Yang and US Open winners Geoff Ogilvy and Michael Campbell, along with K.J. Choi, who won the ''fifth major'', The Players' championship.

The last seven champions have all returned to compete: Australians Brad Kennedy, Jack Higginbottom (the last to win as an amateur back in 2012), Dimitrios Papadatos, Jordan Zunic, Matthew Griffin, along with Hendry and Nisbet.