Former champions Bob Shirley, Michael Perrin and Waitangi's own Jack Winwood jnr will lead the challenge to keep the prestigious James Busby Plate in Northland this year.
The two-day tournament - which also acts as the Golf Northland Matchplay Championship - gets under way tomorrow at the Waitangi Golf Club, witha high quality field headlined by Auckland representative Ian Haringa, playing off a handicap of +2.0.
After torrential rain washed out the final day of the tournament last year, the title was shared between Perrin and Brad Bonnington. While Perrin will be back to defend his title, Bonnington has to skip the event because the event clashes with his university exams.
Organiser Dave Scott said it was one of the best fields the tournament had ever attracted, ranging from Haringa on +2.0, to the first division cut-off at a -0.7 handicap.
While many of the Auckland representative players elected to play in the Bob Charles Tournament in Taranaki this weekend, Ian Haringa decided to give it a miss and he's been up here since Wednesday preparing for the tournament, Scott said.
There are 14 Auckland players coming north for the tournament but the first division is still dominated by Northland golfers.
The local players have the advantage of knowing the course well but there have been plenty of renovations and developments in the past year, which will see the opening of the 11th hole extension later in the summer. It is expected that when completed, the 11th hole will be one of the great par 5 holes in the country.
Eight new tees have been completed at Waitangi this year with most in play for the Busby and more in the future planning over the next couple of years. When all renovations are completed, the course will play to a par 72 and will measure at around 6300m from the back tees, creating a very challenging championship layout for the men.
As a result of the progress made on the Waitangi Golf Course, Golf Northland have given the club the hosting rights for the 2010 Garrard Shield/Ralph Cup on November 14-15. This is the annual interprovincial tournament contested between Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty.
