Golf: Quality field, top purse for Clearwater

A quality field, including 73 United States PGA Tour players, 73 from the Australasian Tour and 10 invited players will line up for the Clearwater Classic in Christchurch in March.

The Classic is the first PGA Tour event in New Zealand to be co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and the US PGA Buy. Com Tour, and the total purse of $1.2 million is the largest for a golf event in New Zealand.

The winner will collect $180,000, the runner-up $102,000 and the third placegetter, $67,500.

Top New Zealanders already confirmed include double New Zealand Open winner Greg Turner, Steve Alker and course designer and former British Open winner Sir Bob Charles.

Two-time Australian Open champion Aaron Baddeley and a clutch of his Australian compatriots, including Stephen Leaney, who was joint runner-up at the Open last Sunday, Lucas Parsons, Peter O'Malley and Nick O'Hern, are also in the line-up.

Charles does not believe his intimate knowledge of the course will offer him any special advantages in the Holden-sponsored event from March 14 to 17.

"To be honest, I have not played the entire course and will not get the opportunity because I'm out of the country until March 12.

"I've played the front nine and four holes on the back nine, but there are a few that I have not yet experienced.

"I've been out of town for the last three weeks and when I went back and had a look at Clearwater I was amazed at the growth in such a short period. The rain has definitely helped."

Charles expects the course to offer a good test, a view shared by course superintendent Bob Bradley, who said the tournament would be played shortly after what was traditionally the hottest month of the year.

"We will narrow a couple of the fairways and may let the rough grow in some areas," he said.

"I would like to see it a uniform height across the course."

Golfers should not expect the knee-high rough of Paraparaumu Beach during last week's Open.

The Clearwater rough would be about 10cm at most, but the excellent grass coverage would ensure that golfers who strayed would face a tough challenge to get back on to the manicured fairways.

"Any wind will really add to the difficulty," Bradley said. "Imagine the 560m par-five fifth into a north-easterly.

"Trevor Herden, director of tour operations for the PGA Tour of Australasia, was here recently, and he was pleased with what he saw and happy with the progress the course had made since his last visit about six weeks ago."

At 6491m, the course is among the longest in New Zealand.

Clearwater has gone to great lengths to ensure that it is built to United States Golf Association specifications, including generous greens.

After the row over the cost of New Zealand Open tickets, the Classic prices come as light relief.

A four-day pass will be $65 and a day pass $25. Students and senior citizens will pay $15 and children under 12 will get in free.

Christopher Doig, chief executive of Sporting Frontiers, owners of the event, said it was important people were not discouraged from attending.

"This is a big international event that will be televised live around the world.

"We want the people of New Zealand to be able to enjoy what promises to be an exciting championship."

- NZPA