BoP boys out to dash local hopes

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A pre-Freyberg Masters reconnaisance could seriously threaten the local domination of the Poverty Bay Men’s Open.

The Emerre and Hathaway-sponsored 2023 edition of a tournament that dates back to 1931 tees off tomorrow on the Awapuni Links course.

The Keiha Cup for the championship 16 matchplay winner has remained in the district since 2013 when Wairakei’s Bruce Wilson, at the age of 58, became what is believed to be the first left-hander to claim it.

Poverty Bay-East Coast club members have won it ever since but that run could be ended if a couple of Bay of Plenty men have it their way.

Among the 112 entrants this year is former New Zealand representative Mark Smith, of Rotorua’s Springfield club, and Craig Van Der Nagel (Te Puke).

Both are expected to be in the Bay of Plenty team for the Freyberg Masters (over-40s) men’s national interprovincial being held at Poverty Bay this year. Hence why Smith was keen to play this week.

Van Der Nagel, the nephew of Gisborne man and former PBEC representative Collin Jeffrey, competed in the Open last year. He was knocked out in the quarterfinals by

67-year-old Wilson, who is back for another crack this week.

Smith has an impressive BoP representative golfing résumé including being part of, and captaining, several national interprovincial-winning sides.

This week’s tournament will give him a chance of a good look at the course where, in six weeks time, the BoP Freyberg Masters team will be looking to add to the province’s

proud history.

It is also an echo from the past.

When Poverty Bay hosted the national interprovincial in 2011, Bay of Plenty association entered eight players and all eight made the top-16.

Rotorua’s Landyn Edwards top qualified with an impressive 5-under 169 (68, 71) and went on to win the title.

Smith and Van Der Nagel were in the BoP team at the Freyberg Masters in Motueka last year and among their opponents were Poverty Bay-East Coast, who they beat 4½-½ in matchplay.

Four of the PBEC players from that day are in this week’s Open field — Anaru Reedy, Dwayne Russell, Tony Akroyd and David Solomann. Akroyd lost to Van Der Nagel while Smith beat Mahia’s Pete Bremner.

Reedy heads into tomorrow’s 36 holes of strokeplay qualifying as the Electrinet Park senior men’s club champion — beating Daniel Collier on the 35th hole on Sunday.

The recently-constituted Tairāwhiti Golf Association president is also a former winner of the PB Open — the 2021  champion — while Akroyd won it in 2007 and was runner-up to William Brown last year.

Brown, the head greenkeeper at Poverty Bay, is not playing this year due to a jaw operation. That op also put him out of the running for the Bay’s senior club championship, which was won by Simon Jeune two weeks ago.

Jeune, who brilliantly won the PB Open in 2019, is also in this week’s field alongside 1995 champion Solomann (1995), who plays at Whitford Park in Auckland but has retained his link with the district through the Masters team and as a member of Waikohu Golf Club.

Solomann and son Glenn made the long trip through to Gisborne to play for Waikohu in the Oligoi Jug men’s interclub pennants this year. The pair are in the same group for tomorrow’s qualifying rounds.

Also in the field is 2000 PB Open winner and host course member Ian “Spud” Murphy and seven-time champion Waka Donnelly (Napier), a former Poverty Bay member who started his golf in Te Puia Springs. Donnelly is second only to the great Frank Gordon (8) in the number of Open titles won although has not won it since 2010.

Among those yet to taste PB Open glory but likely to be in the hunt this week are Patutahi senior men’s champion Hukanui Brown, his ’Tahi clubmate Russell, Collier and Poverty Bay’s Glenn Morley.

Former PBEC rep Simon Jenkins, now based in Western Australia, has joined father and 2022 second 16 winner Dave in the field.

The Gray whānau will be well represented by Deevon and sons David, Te-Reimana and Marcus. The feature group tomorrow — teeing off the 10th at 8.46am — are Hukanui Brown, Van Der Nagel, Reedy, who top qualified last year, and Smith.

A large number of visitors are competing. Most of them love the 36-hole qualifying format, not often experienced in such tournaments nowadays, and the Bay’s superb greens, which will be slick.

Several players, such as brothers Neil and Tim Mackie, have been playing in the Open for decades — Neil first played in it in the late 1970s.

A new course order of holes this week will add to the occasion.

This year’s Open will again culminate in the Emerre and Hathaway/BDO Nearest To Pin Challenge on Saturday afternoon,

The six approach winners over qualifying, plus a wildcard drawn in the clubhouse on Friday, will converge on the 18th fairway and have two shots apiece at getting nearest to the hole. The winner will collect a $1000 Prezzy Card.

The Emerre and Hathaway Poverty Bay Men’s Open runs from tomorrow to Saturday. The draw for the first round of strokeplay qualifying TOMORROW is — No.1 tee, 7am: S Shivnan/P Young/G Kemp/T Thorpe. 7.08: L Foster/David Gray/T Hodge/M Chrisp. 7.16: S Willock/T Sherratt/J Pittar/P Mullooly. 7.24: B Geddes/J Smith/T Williams/S Harbottle. 7.32: D Hodge/J Tuoro/G Waterhouse/C Hawkins. 7.40: L Devaroe/R Moleta/S Amos/I Logan. 7.48: G Campbell/D Bullivant/D Patumaka/A Abrahams. 7.56: M Christophers/R Foon/D White/W Yates. 8.04: A Hayward/T Goldsmith/I Loffler/N Mackie. 8.12: D Jenkins/H Campbell/H Keast/T Mackie. 8.20: S Andreassen/B Reynolds/E Brown Jr/P Stewart. 8.28: Z Boyle/Deevon Gray/G Elliott/S Jenkins. 8.36: D Williams/R Hindmarsh/S Jeune/C Sowerby. 8.44: D Russell/W Donnelly/A Goddard/D Collier.

No.10, 7.02am: S Lardelli/M Parsons/J Sheridan/M Garewal. 7.10: H Williams/D Chrisp/R Chalmers/N Bell. 7.18: C David/N West/T Gray/B Matthews. 7.26: D Bradstreet/M Wooster/J Rowe/G Clapham. 7.34: M Thomas/A Kupa/R Foddy/B Talbot. 7.42: C Carmody/C Dean/H Evans/D Kirkpatrick. 7.50: S Rimene-Albrett/G Udall/C Christophers/H Witters. 7.58: T Peak/J Van Helden/T Adamson/P Gregory. 8.06: A White/A Kirkpatrick/AJennings/D Sharp. 8.14: I Murphy/M Gray/C Wallis/C Coleman. 8.22: R Witters/Z Rolls/B Yates/T Donovan. 8.30: T Akroyd/G Morley/B Wilson/R Cooper. 8.38: D Solomann/J Brown/G Solomann/M Campbell. 8.46: C Van Der Nagel/H Brown/A Reedy/M Smith.