Kurt Barnes to tee it up at New South Wales Open

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

Win or lose, the New South Wales Open will hold pride of place for one young professional who can’t wait to step onto the first tee later this month.

The $100,000 event at Macquarie Links, in Sydney’s south-west from November 20-23, will signal the professional debut for former Australian Amateur champion Kurt Barnes.

The pride of Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley, Barnes won the Australian Amateur title in 2002 at Indooroopilly and the big-hitting rookie professional is now hoping to make an immediate impact on the Australasian PGA Tour.

He has accepted one of 10 sponsors’ invitations to compete in the Von Nida Tour event and could easily prove the surprise packet of the tournament.

Of course he will have to outscore a hot field of seasoned professionals that includes the likes of Peter O’Malley, Anthony Painter and Scott Laycock and veteran performers like Wayne Riley, Lucas Parsons and Mike Clayton, who have scores of Tour wins between them.

The impressive NSW Open trophy boasts names like Norman von Nida, Jim Ferrier, Kel Nagle, Frank Phillips, Peter Thomson, Ted Ball, Greg Norman, Ian Baker-Finch and Craig Parry as previous winners.

The New South Wales Golf Association has also pulled off another coup by luring US Amateur champion Nick Flanagan to play.

This will be the only time fans get the chance to see the Newcastle star in action in any four-round event – professional or amateur – in Sydney this season.

Another amateur bound to draw a crowd is Channel Nine Footy Show host Paul “Fatty” Vautin, who has recovered from a shoulder injury and gleefully accepted a sponsors’ invitation to compete.

Source – NSWGA