Taranaki golfer Grant Moorhead is hoping for a breakthrough when the Charles Tour begins at the Tauranga Open today.
He has never finished outside the top 11 in his 11 starts on the tour. However, Moorhead has yet to claim a victory on a tour which offers elite competition forNew Zealand-based professionals and leading amateurs.
He takes on a field of 50 professionals and 70 amateurs in the $40,000 event, the first of four of the tour.
Moorhead came closest last year before being beaten in a playoff by rookie professional Josh Geary, who claimed his second win in his home tournament.
The New Plymouth club professional has finished third three times, fourth twice and three other top-10s in the past three years.
"Last year I played pretty well, I was just one shot short," Moorhead said.
"I should have won down at the Shirley Open and was in contention at Wairakei and mucked things up in the last round.
"I will be looking to play well this year and get myself up into contention in those first two rounds. The thing is you have to keep on putting yourself there and giving yourself the opportunity and if you keep doing that it will happen."
Moorhead has not played a tournament for several weeks but feels his game is in reasonable shape.
The leading professionals include former New Zealand Open champions Peter Fowler, of Australia, Otago's Mahal Pearce, and two former Bay of Plenty interprovincial amateurs, Troy Ropiha and Jared Pender.
Ropiha won last year's Taranaki Open as an amateur while Pender was New Zealand's leading player at last year's Eisenhower Trophy in Adelaide.
The top amateur hopes rest with Auckland's Ryan Fox and Ben Wallace, Daniel Pearce, of Hastings, and Takaka's Sean Riordan.
The women, who will play over the first three rounds, include national amateur champion Cecilia Cho and another Aucklander, Lydia Ko.
As well 2006 amateur champion Larissa Eruera, of Auckland, and New Zealand strokeplay winner Zoe Brake, of Whakatane, will have their supporters.
