Courtesy of NZ Golf:
Another season of the Jennian Homes Charles Tour tees off this week, with the Harewood Open launching the New Zealand summer as we look to crown two new champions.
To be played from Thursday October 4-7, the field will feature multiple past champions who will be looking to add a new trophy to their cabinet, making for a mouth-watering week in the Garden City.
Headlining the field is recent Jennian Homes Trophy champion, Dan Pearce who won the season-long points race earlier this year and will be aiming to win for the fourth time on the national circuit (victories include the Muriwai Open, Ngamotu Classic and Akarana Open). The Hawkes Bay professional hasn’t played much golf over the winter, so he will be hoping the home summer can spark him back into the form that has seen him win on the world stage.
Five-time Jennian Homes Charles Tour champion, Mark Brown will be a hot favourite as one of our best ball strikers looks to add to his collection. Brown who has had success at this level by winning the Carrus Open four times in five years and was destined for a fifth until Kerry Mountcastle stopped his run this year. The Tauranga professional is yet to win in Christchurch which is a box he will be hungry to tick this week.
Rookie-professional Ryan Chisnall who won the 2014 Harewood Open champion as an amateur, will also be looking to bounce back into the winner’s circle after a quiet year to date. Returning to Christchurch could be the best place to start for Tasman’s best.
Other names that are likely to feature include five-time Japan Tour winner and former New Zealand Open Champion, David Smail alongside Fraser Wilkin, James Anstiss, Doug Holloway, Kieran Muir, Hayden Beard and Richard Lee.
There is a large vacancy in the field this week the country’s six best amateurs currently in Singapore for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship which also starts on Thursday.
This is a massive chance for Daniel Hillier, Denzel Ieremia, Luke Brown, Kerry Mountcastle, Charlie Hillier and Canterbury’s very own Matthew McLean to win and as a result, earn an invitation to The Open Championship and The Masters tournament next year.
The talent in the women’s field makes for an exciting week at the Harewood Open and with no Cassidy in the field who won three of the last four years at this event, the engravers will finally have to learn a new name.
The exciting Auckland duo of Caryn Khoo and Vivian Lu will both be aiming to add to their trophy collection after both recording break-through victories last season. Khoo who now has a large resume of amateur golf including playing in the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, will be looking to use all her 24-years of experience to fend off the young talent.
However, there is another talented Aucklander in Miree Jung who will have other plans as she looks to claim her first title on the Jennian Homes Charles Tour. Prepare for her name to be a regular feature this summer after showcasing her talent at the South Island Stroke Play Championship by recording 20 birdies in just 36 holes over two rounds, which saw her win the event in dominant fashion.
For local fans, Canterbury will have Hillary O’Connor, Madeleine May, Amy Weng, Rion Ishizawa and Danielle Price flying the flag and hoping the Harewood Open trophy will stay in Christchurch.
