Queenstown is a place for all seasons, and players in this year’s New Zealand Open have certainly experienced several of them so far this week.
Stunning practice-round weather gave way to rain on the opening day of the championship, as temperatures plummeted and forced players to play improvised and resourceful golf in challenging conditions at Millbrook Resort.
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Leading the way in a first round delayed three hours by the morning rain is Matias Sanchez, who shot a bogey-free 64 to reach seven-under-par. The 27-year-old Victorian completed his round shortly before darkness fell thanks to the late start.
The former Australian Amateur champion is seeking a second win of this PGA Tour of Australasia season after Sanchez claimed the Webex Players Series South Australia event last October.
“I was just really happy to get it done, get the round in,” Sanchez said. “This [event] is right up there, so to do it here, it’s really special, but I know it’s a quarter of the way down. It doesn’t really mean a whole lot.”
A stroke behind at six-under but with his round incomplete is Japanese amateur Yuki Miya, who made an eagle and four birdies in his first 13 holes but will complete the last five holes of his opening round on Friday morning.
Behind them are a pair of veterans in American Kevin Na and Adelaide’s Wade Ormsby [main image], who both carded five-under-par rounds on opposite courses at Millbrook, while Kiwi Daniel Hillier also sits five-under after 13 holes.
Each of the leaders’ rounds came at the gentler Remarkables course, while Ormsby and Hillier toiled with success on the more difficult Coronet layout.
Ormsby, who two weeks ago filled in as Phil Mickelson’s replacement for the HyFlyers GC side at LIV Golf Adelaide, is motivated to win on the PGA Tour of Australasia, something the 45-year-old is yet to do in a distinguished career.
“I want to get in the hunt to try to win some golf tournaments,” Ormsby said. “Especially on the Aussie tour; I’ve never won on the Aussie tour and that’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. So it’s nice to put myself towards the pointy end early in the week.”
Ormsby is also content with what looks to be a fragmented playing schedule for the rest of the tournament. As the New Zealand Open includes amateur teammates playing alongside the pros, groups of four are scheduled across the timesheets for all four days, leaving no window to play catch-up on the time lost today.
As someone who plays a lot in Asia where afternoon storms can wreak havoc in the same way, Ormsby is happy to draw on his experience and patience the rest of this week.
Na, meanwhile, is treating his time in Queenstown and Arrowtown as a time for fun as well as a competitive outlet, the latter of which was tested from the outset in the first round.
“It was difficult out there,” Na said. “It wasn’t easy. It was a three-club wind with the rain at times… It’s going to play a lot easier in the afternoon, but I did the best I could in the morning.”
Kiwi interests lie with Kazuma Kobori, who aced the fourth hole of the Remarkables course in his 67, plus Tyler Hodge, who sits four-under with five holes still to play. Evergreen 54-year-old Steven Alker shot a 68.
The morning rain delay pushed starting times back three hours, creating a 5:19pm tee-time for the last group and sentencing the opening round to a Friday finish. The later groups have as many as 11 holes still to complete in the morning.
