Golden Bay Open lures top players
Takaka Golf Club’s annual Golden Bay Open, to be contested on 9 and 10 May, is attracting a field of top players from the Nelson-Tasman region and beyond.
Nelson coach Glyn Delany said the 10 Matz Architecture Nelson District Junior Golf Academy players will play the Open as a trial. The 140-strong field will also include Tasman’s top two women players, Lisa Wright and Stephanie McKillop, and a number of professionals.
“Of course our club’s two top players, Sean and Blair Riordan – who have each won the Open over the past couple of years – will be in the field too,” said secretary Linda Sanders. “It will be Sean’s last major event before he heads to Britain to play some events there.
“We’re looking forward to hosting such a good field of top players. As a special event we’re staging an exhibition match on the Friday afternoon. The event is the highlight of our calendar and is huge fun for all golfers. We’re got some up-and-coming young players who are showing great promise, so the Open will be a good test for them.”
Linda Sanders said the course should be in great condition. “Our green-keeper David Win will have the greens in top shape. We’ve also been removing a lot of trees as part of our aim of enhancing the traditional links qualities of the course.
“We’re just hoping the weather Gods are smiling.”
Submitted
