The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has been held as a pro-am in February or March.
Prize money for the 2020 event was NZ$1.4 million, with an additional NZ$50,000 for the pro-am; the tournament winner received NZ$252,000.
The reigning champion is Daniel Hillier, who won the 2026 event.
History The New Zealand Amateur Championship had been played since 1893 and at the 1906 championship meeting in Christchurch it was decided to hold a 36-hole Open Championship at the championship meeting in 1907, "open to any professional or amateur in any part of the world" with prizes of £25 and £10 for the leading professionals. The 1907 championship meeting was held at Napier Golf Club. The first round of the Open was played on the morning of 10 September, the amateurs also competing in a club team event. The professional David Hood and amateur J. Carne Bidwell led with rounds of 80. A handicap event was held on the following day and the second round of the Open was played on the morning of 12 September. The amateur Arthur Duncan had a second round of 76 to win with a score of 159, seven ahead of J. Carne Bidwell. The Scottish professional, Jack McLaren, finished third on 167 with David Hood fourth on 168. McLaren and Hood took the cash prizes of £25 and £10.
In 1908 the tournament was extended to 72 holes, and was won by Joe Clements, the first notable New Zealand-born professional golfer. There were no Opens from 1915 to 1918 due to World War I and the championship was again cancelled from 1940 to 1945 due to World War II.
In early 1923, G. Brodie Breeze, a golf club maker in Glasgow offered a trophy for the event, an offer that was accepted by the New Zealand Golf Association. The trophy was first presented to the 1923 winner, Arthur Brooks, and is held "from year to year" by the winner of the Open. The Jellicoe Cup was presented by Viscount Jellicoe, the second Governor-General of New Zealand, in 1924 and is awarded for the lowest round in the championship. The Bledisloe Cup was presented by Lord Bledisloe, the fourth Governor-General, in 1934 and is awarded to the leading amateur.
The 1937 event was thought to be won by Alex Murray. However, shortly after the tournament ended it was discovered that Murray hit a putt while his playing partner was also putting. Though unintentional, this was a rule violation. Murray was therefore disqualified. John Hornabrook, the reigning New Zealand Amateur champion, Andrew Shaw, the defending New Zealand Open champion, and Ernie Moss played off for title the following day. Hornabrook won the 18-hole playoff.
In 1954 Bob Charles, who was later to become the only New Zealander to win a major championship in the 20th century, won as an 18-year-old amateur. He won again in 1966, 1971 and 1973, as a professional, and he and the two Australian major champions Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle dominated the event from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s. Thomson won the event nine times while Nagle won it seven times.
In 1966 Australian professionals were banned from playing in the tournament by the Australian PGA. The intention of the Australian PGA was to protect the North Coast Open tournament at Coffs Harbour, Australia and ensure that all of the best Australian players entered that event. Despite the ban, Kel Nagle and Len Thomas played in the event.
Other well known winners have included the American Corey Pavin in 1984 and 1985, and Michael Campbell in 2000. Campbell joined Charles as a major champion when he won the 2005 U.S. Open.
In 2002, Tiger Woods took part as a thank you to his New Zealand caddie Steve Williams, but he did not win. His participation caused some controversy when ticket prices were raised sharply that year.
The New Zealand Open is a PGA Tour of Australasia tournament, and in 2005 was co-sanctioned for the first time by the European Tour, which led to a doubling of the prize fund to 1.5 million New Zealand Dollars. The European Tour had co-sanctioned PGA Tour of Australasia events before, but they had all been in Australia, making this the tour's first ever visit to New Zealand. In 2006 the event was moved to November, taking its place on the European Tour schedule for the following calendar year. The 2007 event was the last to be co-sanctioned by the European Tour, and with the tournament being rescheduled to March, there was also no New Zealand Open on the 2008 Australasian Tour. The 2009 and 2010 tournaments were also co-sanctioned by the Nationwide Tour, the official development tour of the PGA Tour. From 2011 to 2017 it was solely sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia while since 2018 it has been co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour. Since 2014 it has also been run in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour, an arrangement whereby a number of golfers from that tour compete in the event, although it is not an official event on the Japanese tour.
Since 2014 the Championship has been a pro-am event. A professional field of 156 play with an amateur partner for the first two rounds, alternately at The Hills and Millbrook Resort before the second round cut of 60 and ties. From 2014 to 2016 and in 2019 the final two rounds of the championship were played at The Hills. In 2017, 2018 and 2020 they were played at Millbrook Resort. The New Zealand Pro-Am Championship runs alongside the main tournament in a best-ball format. After a second round cut, the top 40 pro-am pairs progress to the third round, with a further cut to the top 10 pairs who play in the final round.
The New Zealand Open was cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Venues Venue Location First Last Times Napier Golf Club Waiohiki, Napier 1907 1919 2 Otago Golf Club Maori Hill, Dunedin 1908 1971 7 Royal Auckland Golf Club Middlemore, Auckland 1909 2003 9 Christchurch Golf Club Shirley, Christchurch 1910 1982 11 Wanganui Golf Club Belmont links, Wanganui 1911 1978 8 Royal Wellington Golf Club Heretaunga, Wellington 1912 1995 7 Hamilton Golf Club St Andrews, Hamilton 1920 1975 6Manawatu Golf Club Hokowhitu, Palmerston North 1922 1973 5Miramar Golf Club Miramar, Wellington 1926 1939 2Titirangi Golf Club Titirangi, Auckland 1933 1962 3New Plymouth Golf Club Fitzroy, New Plymouth 1936 1980 4Hastings Golf Club Maraekakaho, Hastings 1949 1949 1Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club Paraparaumu Beach, Paraparaumu 1959 2002 12Invercargill Golf Club Otatara, Invercargill 1960 1960 1The Grange Golf Club Papatoetoe, Auckland 1970 2004 5St Clair Golf Club St Clair, Dunedin 1979 1979 1Russley Golf Club Burnside, Christchurch 1985 1985 1Remuera Golf Club Remuera, Auckland 1994 1994 1Formosa Golf Club Beachlands, Auckland 1998 1998 1Gulf Harbour Country Club Gulf Harbour, Whangaparaoa 2005 2006 2The Hills Golf Club Arrowtown, near Queenstown 2007 2020 7 (+3)Clearwater Golf Club Belfast, Christchurch 2011 2012 2Millbrook Resort Arrowtown, near Queenstown 2014 2026 7 (+4)
Since 2014 the first two rounds have been played on two different courses, everyone playing one round on each course. After the cut, one of the courses is then used for the final two rounds. The number in brackets refers to the occasions where the course was just used for the first two rounds.
Winners