When the Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club course was being constructed, it was done so with an eye to tournament golf.
With the amalgamation of two of Auckland’s top courses and the ensuing restoration process of 27 holes, the course was well set up for hosting, should a major event come knocking.
Now, it’s getting that opportunity.
The course in Papatoetoe will be the venue for the inaugural ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship this week, hosting players from the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Japan Golf Tour Organisation in the first major event in Auckland for two decades.
It’s the first time the two tours have ever co-sanctioned an event, and Royal Auckland and Grange chief executive Ed Chapman said that played a key part in the club wanting to host it.
“The key thing that got the board in line with wanting to host this one was that co-sanctioning with Japan. Something not just Australasia, but getting out into what is the second-biggest golf market in the world and to be able to have that kind of exposure for the club, but also broader for Auckland and Auckland golf as well, was something that was really appealing to us.”
The tournament will end a three-week swing of top-level golf in New Zealand, after the New Zealand PGA Championship at the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club and the New Zealand Open at Millbrook over the last fortnight.
The Japanese and Australasian tours were in discussions for about two years on a co-sanctioned event, and Nick Dastey, PGA Tour of Australasia general manager of tournaments and global tour relationships, said it was a perfect opportunity to expand its offering on Kiwi shores.
“We’re very much aware that the PGA Tour of Australasia hasn’t had a massive footprint in New Zealand in recent years, outside of the New Zealand Open,” Dastey said.
“The New Zealand PGA has been held, but there’s been years where it hasn’t been held. As a tour that is now around 20 events a year sitting on the PGA Tour of Australasia, to only have two in New Zealand is not really where we want to be and certainly not having high-level tournament golf in Auckland, as the major city in New Zealand, is something that we were very mindful of and aware of.
“We’re looking at opportunities to be able to change that and this opportunity working with the Japan Tour seemed like the perfect fit to bring tournament golf back to Auckland.”
The tournament will run initially on a three-year agreement between the two tours, with the first year, at least, to be held at the Royal Auckland and Grange.
Discussions are ongoing about extending that hosting agreement with the Auckland course, however Chapman hinted that it wasn’t the only tournament the club was in conversations with for future events.
“Depending on how the event goes, and other events potentially in the pipeline, would probably determine whether we host it again,” Chapman said.
“I think it’s going to be a great week. Members are really excited. Something I get asked a lot has been when are we going to have a tournament? The members behind it are being wholly supportive for it, so I think there’d be a good chance it’d be here again.
“If not, it’d be a very exciting reason why it’s not here.”
The tournament will use a composite course mostly featuring holes from the Middlemore and Tāmaki nines, with a couple of holes from the Grange nine as well, in a similar set-up to the Ryan Fox Invitational, hosted by the club in December.
The field will include local hopes such as Kazuma Kobori, Nick Voke, former PGA Tour players Kevin Na and Nick Watney, Asian Tour members such as John Catlin, Travis Smyth and Chase Koepka, and top players from the Japanese tour like Kazuki Higa and Taiga Semikawa.
“I think the back nine will be really exciting,” Chapman said.
“You’ve got three par-fives, a couple of tough par-threes, a short par-four and probably three tough par-fours. So I think for the back nine on Sunday, there could be quite a bit of changing around in the order. Someone could easily go five-, six-under [par] and someone could easily go two- or three-over, depending how it’s playing.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.