Golf: Golf: Top NZ players elbow 'names'

Organisers of next year's New Zealand Open will continue showcasing home-grown talent rather than bolstering the field with world golfing big names.

Phil Aickin, the NZ Golf Association's operations manager and Open director, flew out this week to catch up with United States-based PGA Tour professionals at the next two tournaments, the Deutsche Bank Championships this week and the Bell Canadian Open.

He took a similar trip a year ago that resulted in Phil Tataurangi, Frank Nobilo, Grant Waite and Michael Campbell playing in the Open at the Middlemore course in January.

Aickin hopes to lure all of the United States-based New Zealanders back for the next Open, at The Grange, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bob Charles winning his first Open.

Tataurangi's troublesome back may rule him out, but Aickin said he hoped to discuss it with him in the next fortnight.

Aickin was also confident of luring two-times winner Greg Turner, who missed this year's event.

"Greg has been fantastic this year. He's winding down his playing and has been helping with our design and high-performance programmes.

"My gut feeling is he will play."

This year's approach confirms the end of the days of paying a top overseas golfer, such as Billy Mayfair or Scott Hoch, to play in the Open.



"Our players will come first. I think they deserve it," Aickin said.

David Smail and Richard Lee were big names in Asia, while Tataurangi, Craig Perks, Waite, Campbell and Turner strode the world stage.



"New Zealand has a profile through golf, but in my opinion it is not recognised by the Government," Aickin said.

The fact that the association had to pay to have the national event televised was a bugbear for the administrators and reduced the prize purse.

Last year's Open had a purse of $700,000.