The NSW Open: A Fine Vintage

BY Anthony Powter | Von Nida Tour | 2008 New South Wales Open | Preview | 12 Nov 2008

The final Von Nida Tour event on the 2008 schedule, the NSW Open Championship, gets underway at The Vintage Golf Club this Thursday.

Defending champion Jason Norris of Adelaide will be returning to the Hunter Valley layout and will be joined by a field represented by a blend of both young professionals and seasoned professionals.

Matthew Griffin, runner-up at the Western Australian PGA Championship a few week’s back, spearheads the new professional rookies which include Tim Stewart and Rohan Blizard, who are playing their maiden professional event having since turn professional following the World Amateur Championships in Adelaide last month.

The new comers will be joined by a number of golf legends with Rodger Davis, Bob Shearer and World Golf Hall of Fame member Kel Nagle. The 1991 British Open winner Ian Baker-Finch is also a confirmed starter for the event.

It promises to be an interesting clash between the more seasoned professionals against their younger rivals, on a layout that is considered one of the most challenging in the country.

Local professional James Nitties, who recently returned from the US and won the Harvey Norman Magenta Shores Pro-Am last month, is one player that should play well and seriously challenge fro the championship title.

Nitties’ broader objective is to gain a US tour card of some type and to settle in to the grind of four-round tournament golf. He’s using the Von Nida events as a prelude to the next month’s final stage of the US Tour School and is eager to repeat his efforts at last year’s Australian Open, where he played into contention over three rounds. �Scheduling consistency is something Nitties has missed and to an extent, injury aside, it’s restricted his career since he turned professional in 2004.

Last year at the NSW Open Nitties shared the final day’s low round with Jarrod Lyle with 66 to finish in 3rd position, two strokes behind winner Jason Norris who claimed the title at 7-under-par. Nitties likes the layout and is at ease playing in front of his local crowd. I strongly favour his chances at this event.

The 2008 Tahitian International Open champion, Ed Stedman, will be another of the “Young Guns” to keep an eye on during the 2008 NSW Open.

Stedman is now a resident at the host golf club and will be seeking to have the edge over his competitors as he tries for yet another title in 2008. Stedman was recently crowned as the NSW/ACT PGA Order of Merit champion, finishing 18 points clear of defending Order of Merit champion Josh Lane, who’s also competing this week.

Matt Jager, an outstanding young amateur from Western Australia, is another player worth closely following during the event. With solid efforts already banked this year with a runner-up finish at the prestigious Players Amateur in the US and a recent victory at the Federal Amateur, the world number 17 and Australia’s top ranked amateur has the game to repeat Rick Kulacz’s efforts of 2006 and win the NSW Open as an amateur.

Michael Long has already secured a win this season at the WA PGA Championship and comes off a tied runner-up finish at last week’s NSW PGA. The New Zealander’s form obviously reveals plenty of consistency and he’ll certainly be a challenger in his first tournament at The Vintage.

The event, the second in a six year agreement between The Vintage and the NSW Golf Association, will again feature the Pebble Beach style Team Challenge Pro-Am, where professionals and amateurs compete together in a four-ball, best-ball Stableford event during the final two days of the championship. The cut for the professionals will be the top 50 and ties after the second round.

Last year’s event was considered an overall success despite varied views as to the format, as well as the location, with the tournament being outside Sydney.

On the latter, The Vintage was overwhelming well received by the players, as it’s a superb layout. The format, well that worked in perfect harmony between the professional plying their trade and the ever nervous amateur. There’s no reason to believe anything will be different this year, except the chance that a young gun might just walk away with the tile over the elders of he game. Either way it promises to be a great event.