Golf: NZ Open victor is anyone's guess

Ryan Fox has quickly become the New Zealand golfer, outside of Lydia Ko, most want to watch. Picture / Dean Purcell

Former winners, Japanese contingent and Aussie battalion to fight out $1 million feature in Queenstown

The more we know, the less we know.

We know Ryan Fox is a sort of male version of Lydia Ko, Michael Hendry and Mark Brown are out of form but play well here, and Josh Geary is ready for a breakthrough win.

But we don't know which unheralded Australian will choose this week to fire, nor how some of the Japan Tour golfers will perform.

To put it bluntly, tipping a winner of the $1 million New Zealand Open at The Hills and Millbrook is about as simple as predicting the weather in these parts.

"You're going to have to play very well this week to win," Fox said.

"It's a really good field. The Japanese boys might go under the radar with the public but a lot of good players have come down for this."

Fox has quickly become the New Zealand golfer, outside of the spectacular Ko, most want to watch.

He is no longer "just" the son of All Blacks great Grant Fox. He is a big-hitting, strong-finishing golfer with his peak years approaching.

He did well at the NZ Open last year, finishing tied for sixth, and is prepared for what The Hills, following his opening round at Millbrook, will offer.

He will be surrounded by a couple of big hitters - his playing partner is West Indies cricket great Sir Viv Richards, and his group also includes Sir Ian Botham.

For a change, he will not have his famous father carrying his bags this week. "Dad's just a supporter this week. I don't think he'll enjoy it. He likes some sense of control and he can't get that on the outside."

At the other end of the scale, in age and form, to Fox is perennial contender Mark Brown.

He finished runner-up last year, and also finished second at a PGA pro-am at The Hills.

But if you are only as good as your last round, Brown is not among the favourites. He blew out to 82 in the final round of the New Zealand PGA to continue what, for a player of his class, has been a rough patch.

Brown is too good not to be considered a leading contender to break a long drought - a New Zealander has not won the NZ Open since Dunedin's Mahal Pearce in 2003. Brown will again be paired in the pro-am with former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming, who was a little wide-eyed last year when he found himself in the title-chasing group.

A New Zealand win would be popular on Sunday but, as usual, the locals are heavily outnumbered by the battalion of lean, tanned and hungry young men from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, including Cameron Smith, Matthew Millar, Nick Cullen and Steven Jeffress.

Then there is the beefed-up Japanese contingent to consider as well as eight former winners - including New Zealanders David Smail, Greg Turner and Michael Long - in the field.

After that? Pin the draw to a wall and throw a dart. This tournament is anybody's.