Golf: Five-day classic draws keen golfers

Peter Stallard from Omokoroa focuses on his drive at the Omanu Golf Club during the Eves 5 Day Classic golf tournament.

One of the world's largest individual Stableford tournaments is proving a financial windfall for the Western Bay.

The Eves 5 Course Classic began on Monday and ends tomorrow with a dinner and prizegiving evening at the tournament headquarters of Mount Maunganui Golf Club. The tournament has enjoyed wonderful weather all week for the 401 golfers competing in the 90-hole event that has a combined prize pool worth $35,000.

The field is drawn into four groups that play a different course every day at - Tauranga, Mount Maunganui, Omokoroa, Omanu and Te Puke - with each course drawn a bye during the week.

The golfers have come from far and wide to enjoy the high-class golf courses in the Western Bay including 35 from Australia, 17 from the Cook Islands, four from the United Kingdom and the rest of the field represent 101 out of the 338 New Zealand clubs.

Mount Maunganui club manager Keith Fullerton said the event had been well received and golfers were enjoying playing all five courses.

But he said it would be good to get some help from local councils to help drive the event in future.

"More than 80 per cent of the 401 golfers are from out of the area and the whole Western Bay is getting benefit from the influx of all those people," he said.

"Funding would be nice to assist us to be able to put more things together and make the event bigger. From our perspective being able to market the event a little bit better than what we do would be great and be able to employ someone to take photos of people playing at the different courses and do some of the nicety things.

"Also it would be good to have people stick with the groups for the five days and be able to assist the volunteers with mileage and lunch and shirts would be ideal."

Golfers tee off at 8am today at Tauranga and Mount Maunganui, midday at Omanu and Omokoroa, with Te Puke having the bye.