Peter Williams: National strokeplay champs provide annual dose of southern hospitality

There are three significant interprovincial team events in New Zealand each year.

The annual matchplay tournament, originally the Freyberg Rosebowl, now the Toro Interprovincial, started in the early 1950s and is now played in early December. There's also January's under-23 teams championship at Taupo, which has evolved into virtually a fully-fledged national title because most of the country's top amateurs are in that age group.

And there's the SBS Invitational, the 31st edition of which is on next weekend at the Invercargill Golf Club's classy Otatara Links.

This is the most successful initiative by a local golfing authority in the history of the game in New Zealand. The genesis was a realisation that Southland could not support a professional tournament.

They did have the Southland Classic in the 1970s but after 1976 it just couldn't continue, so ambitious and enthusiastic locals came up with what has become the national teams strokeplay championship.

Each of the country's 15 provincial associations send five-man teams for the 72-hole event, with the best four scores in each round counting towards the team total.

The first was held in 1977 and, apart from a break in 1978, has been on every year since. The event is one of the most prestigious on the amateur calendar and all our best players of the last 30 years - Campbell, Turner, Nobilo, Smail etc - have competed.

For last year's 30th anniversary, an Australian national team was invited and they, predictably, beat the best New Zealand team, North Harbour, by 22 shots.

Occasionally a national women's team has played and the top five female amateurs will be at Otatara again next weekend.

Unfortunately this year's SBS Invitational clashes with one of the most important events on the Australian amateur calendar, the Riversdale Cup, so nine of our best players won't make it south, including the the world's fifth best amateur, Rotorua's Danny Lee.

Two Aucklanders are in the official New Zealand team - Travis O'Connell and Ben Wallace - so our side for Otatara is below full strength. But I believe there's a good chance Van Wright, Ryan Fox, Seve Ha, Leighton James and Ben Davies could be contenders.

The SBS Invitational is a hugely significant event in the Southland community. In a part of the country renowned for its generosity, the tournament has been a huge fundraiser through sponsorship and participation in the pre-tournament am-am.

In 30 years more than $200,000 has been donated to charities in the south, including a remarkable $26,000 last year.

Next week I doubt any team will come within cooee of Australia's incredible total last year of 33 under par. But the absence of national team players offers the chance for some new stars to make a mark. I just hope Southland's sometimes fickle autumn weather doesn't make too much of a mark as well.