Hadlee confirmed for golfing pro am

Golf

Cricket great Sir Richard Hadlee will be the guest celebrity for the annual DHL Global Forwarding and Recreational Services Masterton-Eketahuna pro-am golf tournament to be played the weekend of January 26-27.

Sir Richard played 86 tests and 115 one-day internationals from 1972 to 1990 and became the first player to capture 400 wickets and score more than 3000 runs in tests.

Now a much sought after anecdotal and motivational speaker, Sir Richard is a member of the Pegasus and Hanmer Springs golf clubs and will play here off a projected 10.4 handicap.

Another high profile participant in this year's event will be the popular host of radio's Farming Show, Jamie Mackay, who will be part of the Geoff Masters Plastering amateur team.

The tourney is the first of the pro ams on the 2013 NZPG calendar and, as usual, it will see three amateurs combining with one professional over 18 holes at Eketahuna on the Saturday and another 18 holes at the Lansdowne course in Masterton on the Sunday.

The full line-up of professionals is still to be confirmed but a definite starter is last year's winner, Grant Moorhead from New Plymouth, who had rounds of 63 and 64 on that occasion.

Other previous winners Joshua Carmichael, Douglas Holloway, Richard Lee and Marcus Whitehouse are expected to be among Moorhead's toughest rivals.

Others tipped to be among the contenders are Leighton James, Peter Spearman-Burn, Scott Hill and Kieran Muir, all in the top 10 of the NZPGA Order of Merit.

The professionals will be playing in what is the 10th Eketahuna-Masterton pro am for a purse of $15,000 plus a $1500 travel voucher, while the amateurs will be shooting for prizes worth $10,000.