Ryan Peake watched on as his 90cm putt dropped on the 18th hole at Millbrook Resort to win the New Zealand Open; his primal roar putting the final fullstop on a story that would later be broadcast on one of golf’s biggest stages.
The Australian former gang member not only chased down a four-shot lead in the final round to win the tournament, he also earned himself a spot in the Open Championship – 2025 being the first year such a reward was offered at the Kiwi tournament.
Peake’s redemption story was one of many highlights from the tournament, with organisers boasting a multimillion-dollar economic impact from the event, a 48% increase in total attendees and more than seven million viewers from over 90 countries.
The New Zealand Open has announced global market research and analytics company YouGov measured the event generated $12.36 million in economic impact for New Zealand and $23.34m – as well as 45,000 bed nights – for Queenstown.
Speaking to the Herald, New Zealand Open chairman John Hart said the results in the report had exceeded expectations.
“Some of the figures are pretty dramatic in terms of the numbers, but we’ve seen the progression each year,” Hart said.
“There’s no doubt the whole presentation of the event and incorporating the British Open spot and things like that just added to the interest.
“It’s been really good to see that the interest is across all fields. It’s across spectators, it’s across social media, it’s across television viewing and again, results of our surveys from our sponsors and from our amateur players have gone up another level as well.
“It’s progression and it’s quite exciting to have gotten ourselves to the position we’re in. I can see real value, obviously, for the benefits that it’s returning to Golf New Zealand, to golf, but particularly to Queenstown, and also to the country.”
Hart said organisers were hopeful of the competition retaining its place as a qualifying event for the Open Championship in 2026, but that would be an annual discussion with the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, colloquially known as the R&A.
“They make those decisions year-on-year, so you’ll never get a commitment that you’ve got it forever or for a point period,” Hart said.
“We’re hopeful that, with the help of Golf New Zealand, we will get that commitment again next year. I think it is a very important status for the tournament in terms of viewers and in terms of players, because it is a unique way to qualify for the British Open.”
The 2025 edition was the third time the tournament had been based solely at the two Millbrook courses, after being played between Millbrook and The Hills from 2014 to 2020. The tournament also hosts 156 amateur players for the New Zealand Open Pro-Am Championship.
After the 2025 event, it was announced Millbrook would continue to host the tournament through to 2032.
“Queenstown is a natural home for a tournament like ours. It’s a natural home because of tourism and because of the quality of the golf courses,” Hart said.
“Through the involvement we’ve had with the Hills, and Millbrook, and the relationship we have with Jack’s Point and their involvement at different times, the whole package is very compelling.
“It’s really hard to see how you would run this tournament anywhere else in New Zealand as satisfactorily as this, and I think a lot of that is about the quality of the golf courses and the accessibility of the golf courses being close together.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have the support of the Hills – Michael Hill was the original underwriter – and particularly now Gota Ishii and the Ishii family at Millbrook resort. The fact that we’ve just signed an extension with Golf New Zealand to manage the event in Queenstown at Millbrook Resort ... I think, is an indication of just how important the progression has been.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.