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 Newsroom Taranaki Open 2005 New Zealand’s leading golfers Brad Iles and Mathew Holten may play their last major amateur event in this country at this week’s Olex Taranaki Open in New Plymouth. The $40,000 tournament is run under the umbrella of Golf Tour New Zealand, the organisation established by former touring professional Greg Turner to provide opportunities for young New Zealand professionals and to raise the bar for the leading amateurs, both men and women. It is understood that both New Zealand representatives plan to turn professional and attempt to gain their cards for next year’s Asian PGA Tour. The pair returned this week from the Asia Pacific Championships in Japan, and will take part in next month’s Southern Cross Cup competition. They are then expected to finalise plans to turn professional. It is a remarkable turnaround for Iles, who 15 months ago lay close to death after a freak accident following a golf tournament in the United States when he suffered life-threatening head injuries after being thrown from a golf cart. The Mt Maunganui-based golfer recovered to win the North Island Amateur and a semifinalist at the New Zealand Amateur. He has recently returned from a tour in the United States where he was a semifinalst at the Western Amateur, made the third round of the Canadian Amateur and sixth in the Players Amateur. Holten, 23, has been regularly at the top of the New Zealand Amateur game for the past two seasons. He won the South Island Amateur before a remarkable effort across the Tasman, becoming the first New Zealander in more than a century to win the prestigious Riversdale Cup. Holten has been in top form this year winning the Auckland and Waikato Strokeplay titles. They are among all the leading New Zealand amateurs to compete in a quality field at the Ngamotu links course starting with a Pro-Am today and tournament-proper tomorrow. The professionals include in-form Taranaki professional Grant Moorhead, who won the Fiji PGA title last month, Auckland’s Marcus Wheelhouse, who has been playing in the US, along with Rotorua’s Nick Davey and Dunedin’s Ben Gaillie, who return this week from competing on the Canadian Tour. Wheelhouse is using the tournament as a shakedown before returning to the United States for the arduous qualifying school process. Ryan Hayward (Christchurch) defends his title won on the final green last year with runner-up Mark Brown (Wellington) also back as he prepares to return to more tournament play. Iles and Holten are joined by fellow Kiwi representatives Josh Geary (Mt Maunganui) and Mark Purser (Hamilton) who was in superb form finishing fourth individual at 12-under par for the Asia Pacific teams championship. The New Zealand women’s Titleist players are also competing led by Sarah Nicholson (Wellington), Sharyn Ahn (North Harbour), Natasha Krishna (Auckland) and Penny Newbrook (Rotorua). Newbrook, who has been in excellent form this year, is pushing for a return to the team while Krishna was been controversially left out of her own Auckland provincial side for next month’s interprovincial championships. They will also be pushed with the inclusion of former European Tour professional Pam Sowden, now working for the North Harbour association, and Scottish professional Claire Hunter. Olex New Zealand Limited is part of the Olex Holdings Group, the largest Australasian electrical power cable manufacturer. The company has provided the New Zealand electrical market for more than 35 years and is the leading supplier of electrical power cables, products and technical solutions. The company, based in New Plymouth, employs 150 staff. For further information contact: |
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