Golf: Dame Lydia Ko signs on as New Zealand Women’s Open returns

After a decade competing in tournaments overseas, Dame Lydia Ko is set to return to home soil.

The Olympic gold medallist, three-time major championship winner and former world No 1 will headline a 132-strong field at the Wainui Golf Club and Function Centre, near Silverdale, next March as the New Zealand Women’s Open makes its long-awaited return.

Last held in 2017 at Windross Farm Golf Club, the event, co-sanctioned by the LPGA and WPGA Tour of Australasia was won by Canadian Brooke Henderson, who cruised to a five-shot win at 17-under-par.

The 2027 edition, held from March 18-21, will see the tournament back to being co-sanctioned by the Ladies’ European Tour (LET) and the WPGA Tour of Australasia, with a $808,000 prize pool. The tournament was previously co-sanctioned by the two tours for seven of its nine editions – the last of which was in 2016, before it moved to the LPGA in 2017.

Next year’s tournament, delivered with support from New Zealand Major Events and Auckland Council Events, will be the first in a four-year agreement, seeing the New Zealand Women’s Open remain on the calendar until at least 2030.

“We are delighted to welcome the New Zealand Women’s Open back to the Ladies European Tour schedule after a 10-year hiatus,” LET chief executive Tom Phillips said.

“This announcement underlines our commitment to collaborating with valued partners to offer global opportunities to the world’s best players, whilst inspiring future generations to take up the game.

“New Zealand has a proud history of producing world-class talent and passionate, knowledgeable golf fans. We look forward to bringing a truly international field of competitors to Wainui Golf Club and Function Centre to celebrate and showcase elite women’s golf on the global stage.”

Ko will return with the hopes of hoisting the trophy for a fourth time.

The LPGA Tour Hall of Fame golfer first won the title as an amateur in 2013, before claiming back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016.

“Playing in front of a home crowd in New Zealand is always something really special to me and I’m thrilled the New Zealand Women’s Open is back,” Ko said.

“I grew up on the North Shore, so to have an event of this calibre at Wainui, just up the road, makes it feel even more like home. To return with the strength of the Ladies European Tour and WPGA Tour of Australasia behind it is fantastic for the game here and I can’t wait to tee it up.”

While Ko will headline the local contingent competing, there will be a host of New Zealand talent among the international players, with current LET athletes Amelia Garvey and Momoka Kobori expected to be involved.

A yet-to-be-determined number of places in the field will be made available for New Zealand athletes, including amateurs and professionals playing in organisations outside the LET, such as Fiona Xu, who plays on the Epson Tour.

“We have set ourselves a goal of doubling the number of women and girls playing golf in this country, and events like this are exactly how we get there,” Golf New Zealand chief executive Jeff Latch said.

“There is nothing quite like seeing the best players in the world up close; watching how they carry themselves, how they compete, and we know that for a young girl standing greenside at Wainui, that experience can be the spark that starts a lifelong love of the game.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our own players, from our leading professionals to the amateurs in the field, to test themselves against the very best in the world right here at home. Competing on this stage, in front of New Zealand crowds, is exactly the kind of experience that helps develop the next generation of talent. We can’t wait to welcome the field, and the fans, to Wainui in March.”