Big guns bound for New South Wales Open

BY iseekgolf.com | Von Nida Tour | 2003 New South Wales Open | General | 14 Nov 2003

Anthony Painter, Scott Gardiner and Wayne Riley are rated among the best golfers to come out of this state in recent years so it is fitting they should agree to tee it up in Sydney’s biggest golf event this season, the $100,000 New South Wales Open at Macquarie Links in Sydney’s south-west.

The trio add spice to a field growing stronger each day, following the addition last week of Victorian Scott Laycock and Bathurst star Peter O’Malley to the event which will run from November 20-23.

Painter has had a steady season in his first year on the major US PGA Tour after graduating from the Nationwide Tour and in 2003 has earnings of $US220,714 with his best finish a tied for 14th at the Byron Nelson Championship.

Gardiner, a former leading amateur from the north coast, has made only sporadic appearances on the European Tour this year in events like the British Open and Dunhill Links Championship. Still he has played with distinction in a lot of the Australasian Tour events and is a player of the future.

Keen to give something back to the amateur body who run the NSW Open, Gardiner would love to add his name to a list of greats like Norman von Nida, Jim Ferrier, Kel Nagle, Frank Phillips, Peter Thomson, Ted Ball, Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Craig Parry, who have won this event.

Riley is a former Scottish Open and Australian Open winner now living back in Sydney and is always competitive wherever he plays.

Laycock earned more than $US300,000 on the US Tour this year but has indicated he now wants to compete closer to home and be near his wife Janet and son Joel between tournaments. He will turn his back on the US PGA Tour next year to compete in Australasian and Japanese Tour events.

New South Wales Golf Association executive director, David Allen said “It is a great sign of the tradition of the NSW Open that these great players have entered. Our Open is steeped with such tradition and includes many of the who’s who of golf. It just shows that in this age of multi million dollar purses, there are players out there who still want to have their names on the big trophies.”

“Macquarie Links is an excellent venue and the crowds will have the opportunity of watching top golf, in Sydney, at one of the best new courses I have seen.”

Source – NSWGA