Golf: Fowler fired up for Tauranga

Auckland-based Australian golfer Peter Fowler is back for a second tilt at the Tauranga Open starting tomorrow, the opening tournament of this year's Charles Tour.

Fowler, 50, hopes he can put a horror year of injury behind him and re-ignite his plans for a serious tilt at the Seniors Tours in Europe and ultimately the United States.

The Tauranga Open is the first of five tournaments that makes up the Charles Tour, offering $40,000 prizemoney for each of the 72-hole events for elite professionals and amateurs, male and female.

It has drawn arguably the best field in its five years, with Fowler one of two former New Zealand Open champions to line up, with Dunedin's Mahal Pearce.

Fowler will go head to head with defending champion Michael Hendry (North Harbour), who held off the veteran in a playoff to win last year.

Fowler has fashioned a superb career and delighted fans with his performance last year at Tauranga. He has won nine times including the Australian Open (1983), New Zealand Open (1993), the BMW International (1993) and the World Cup with Wayne Grady in 1989.

After a hip operation, Fowler decided to try out the "new" body at last year's Tauranga tournament in the hope it would lead to full fitness.

He ventured to Europe but suffered a back injury that has since required surgery and thwarted much of his playing options last year.

The 50-strong professional field includes four of last year's top five finishers in Tauranga and winners of six Charles Tour tournaments led by three-time champion Mark Purser (Wairakei 2006, Tauranga 2007 and Shirley 2008), Hendry (Tauranga and Taranaki 2009) and Troy Ropiha (Taranaki 2008).

The in-form professional is former Canterbury and New Zealand representative Andrew Searle, now at Cambridge, who rushed home in the final round to win the Brian Perry Classic Pro-Am this month.

The 68-strong amateur field includes seven women led by New Zealand strokeplay champion Caroline Bon (Northland) plus new professional Phillis Meti.

The men are headed by last year's leading amateur on the Charles Tour, Gary-John Hill (Auckland) and internationals Ben Campbell (Masterton), Ryan Fox (Auckland), Andrew Stewart (Tauranga) plus Wellington's Peter Spearman-Burn, returned from the Bonallack Trophy in India which was called off when the Europe team were unable to fly because of the Icelandic volcanic ash issue.

- NZPA