KEY POINTS:
The absence of big-name Europeans at the New Zealand Golf Open this year comes as no surprise to former winner Greg Turner.
Turner, a long-serving professional on the European Tour, says the lack of prize money, the remoteness of New Zealand and the proximity to other, bigger tournaments
make the Open a tough sell to leading players.
But Turner says that is not something that should plunge the organisers into a fit of depression as it has positive ramifications for local players.
"It is a double-edged sword in some ways," said Turner. "It creates more places for local players without changing the standing. It is still a co-sanctioned tournament.
"I guess it would be nice if some of the bigger names came over but I think it is still a tournament that will hold appeal for younger, up-and-coming players on the tour."
The total purse of $1.5m is one of the smallest on offer on the European Tour but raising the budget is tough in a part of the world where rugby sucks up so much of the sponsorship dollar.
Turner agrees that a chicken-and-egg scenario exists where without the big name players signing up, it becomes harder to attract sponsorship and without more prize money, it becomes harder to attract the big name players.
Sweden's Daniel Chopra is the only European player of some standing signed to play at this year's Open, which begins on November 29, so there has probably not been a better opportunity for a home winner for some years.
While Michael Campbell and David Smail are the New Zealand players with the highest world rankings, neither is in blistering form.
Campbell, though, had a decent tournament last year when he arrived in so-so shape and went close to leading by the end of the third day only to fade on the final round.
Forced to pick a New Zealander who might cause a surprise at The Hills course in Queenstown, Turner names Mark Brown. "I guess he's one guy playing close to his best form."
It remains a source of disappointment for Turner that he can't rattle off a host of young Kiwis who he feels could be contenders.
As a man who has made it is mission to develop golf talent in New Zealand, Turner feels there is still a flaw in the system that sees promising amateurs disappear when they enter the professional ranks.
It wasn't so long ago that Turner himself, Frank Nobilo and Campbell were all winning tournaments in Europe. But in the last decade or so, no New Zealander has managed to get a foothold in the world top 100.
Players such as Brad Iles, Brad Heaven, Eddie Lee and Josh Geary have all shown immense promise as amateurs but not yet fulfilled their potential as professionals.
"When you look at the talent we produce at amateur level it highlights that we have problems taking them to the next level.
"The fact we have a number of promising youngsters battling away has been the story of New Zealand golf for the last 20 years.
"Take out Campbell and Phil Tataurangi and it shows how poorly we have been doing."
