Former local Daniel Pearce will line up against a strong field today on the first day of the New Zealand Open in Queenstown. Photo Bob EnglebrightThe best golfers in New Zealand, including Ashburton’s Daniel Pearce, along with a vast array of international names will tackle the New Zealand Open, which begins in Queenstown today.

Former Ashburton College student Pearce will sit alongside fellow Kiwis Michael Hendry, Ryan Fox and Ben Campbell in the elite event which is played across both Millbrook Resort and The Hills.

It’s a hot field, with strong form and there’s no hiding from that fact and Pearce, who is incidentally playing in the tournament as an Australian, will need to produce his known skill set to keep pace with the high-flyers.

Of the leading Kiwis, Campbell comes off his breakthrough professional win at the NZPGA Championship at the weekend, while Fox has taken time out to refresh and re-focus following his tie for third in his European Tour event in Malaysia.

Hendry, the defending champion, may not have been in his best form this year, but the 2017 winner is pleased that his hard work is starting to pay off.

“My form hasn’t been great but I feel I have played better than my results. I have been working particularly hard,” he said.

“Confidence levels and expectations are always changing but it takes a certain amount of pressure off. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone that I can win it because I’ve done it.

“That said I would love anything in the world to win it again and I have done pretty well defending golf tournaments.”

Fox said his run of top finishes in three big tournaments in a row in France, Ireland and Scotland last year, has given him belief.

“I believe I can compete out there and after those three weeks. I was competing against the best players in the world and playing with the likes of Jon Rahm and Justin Rose,” Fox said.

“Sometimes belief is hard without the results and thankfully I’ve got results to back it up now and I’m starting to believe. At the start of last year, I was a little bit of an unknown and I probably didn’t believe as much as I should of.

“The best players in the world believe that they are the best players in the world. There are guys that have got that far almost on confidence alone. It’s the mental side of the game, the belief and the confidence which is the big part of it.”

Campbell is full of confidence after his resounding victory in the NZPGA Championship, and has the benefit of returning to his home course; Millbrook Resort.

“It’s always nice I suppose getting the monkey off your back and I played pretty solid last week,” Campbell said.

“I learned quite a bit in the Open and it gave me more confidence and that I felt like I should be here.”

He will be hoping once again that the support from his local Queenstown friends and family will help boost his confidence.

One hundred and forty-four professionals will contest the $1.2 million tournament at Millbrook Resort and The Hills tomorrow. There is a cut to the top-60 players plus ties to contest the final two rounds at Millbrook Resort.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 1 March 2018