Premier event returns to Manawatu

WARWICK SMITH/Manawatu Standard

THE SAVIOR: Ewan Westergaard blasts out of a bunker on the eighth hole at Hokowhitu.

Ewan Westergaard wanted his Manawatu Golf Club to return to staging Manawatu-Wanganui's flagship tournament, so he went out and did something about it.

In March last year, the club's No1 player and club captain knocked on the door of John McOviney at Steelfort with a view to re-establishing the LawnMaster Classic.

Since it was started in 1985 by Trevor Malloch, McOviney had supported the 72-hole matchplay event for the first 20 of its 23 years. For the last three, it was the Harvey Norman Classic.

When New Zealand Golf cruelly sanctioned the Shirley Open for the same Labour Weekend, it squeezed out the Manawatu event.

But now Westergaard has shifted it to the better weather of March, and McOviney is keen to get recognition for the only lawnmower made in New Zealand.

"I felt that given we have a good facility and a good golf course, we deserved to have a 72-hole event again," Westergaard said.

"We lacked a premier event at Manawatu."

There are still clashes, but Westergaard regards those as blips when reviving an event. Next year, there is talk of official teams from Hawke's Bay, Wellington and Taranaki taking part.

"The first year is always the hardest to bring it back," he said.

"A scheduling conflict is always going to happen."

Top amateurs Ryan Fox, Nick Gillespie, Andrew Stewart, Ben Campbell, Matt Perry and Sean Riordan will be at the Australian amateur in Perth. Wellington has Duncan Cup pennants and Bay of Plenty has interclub.

Two leading Royal Wellington players in the field this year are Aaron Leech (+0.1) and Tom Brockelsby (+1.8). Westergaard hopes word will spread next year and enlarge the field from the 61 men and 12 women, including 45 players on handicaps of two or lower.

Westergaard himself will be a threat after winning the Hastings Open, and having won the LawnMaster in 2002, he is the only former winner in the field. Taranaki's Brad Hayward (New Plymouth, +0.4), runner-up at the Southland Invitational two weeks ago, will be playing, as are his clubmates Douglas Moores (+0.4) and Scott MacLean (+0.4) and Hawke's Bay's highly-ranked Pieter Zwart (+1.7).

Sam An (Auckland, +1.2) will also be competing.

All of the Manawatu-Wanganui rep players, aside from Marton's Regan Cording, have entered. They include course superintendent Malcolm Wells (0.0), Levin 15-year-old Tyler Hodge (+0.5), Tyler Lock (Castlecliff +1.0), Lachie McDonald (Marton 0.9), Stu Smith (Manawatu 0.9) and Josh Munn (Manawatu 0.1). New Zealand Golf has made it a national order-of-merit tournament and it has a $10,000 prize table. The most recent winner was Danny Lee, in 2007, two years before he turned pro.

The small women's field includes North Harbour's Courtney Manning (Peninsula 0.8), Aucklander Hayley Clinning (Manukau 1.7) and Jessica Guenzerodt (Christchurch 0.8), as well as Palmerston North's Maraea Durie (4.1).

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