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Caddy call for NZ PGA Championship at The Hills

Media Release from NZ PGA
13 March 2012

Caddy call for NZ PGA Championship at The Hills

The call is out for caddies to take part in the NZ PGA Pro-Am Championship to be held at The Hills in Queenstown from March 29 to April 1 2012.

Around 80 caddies are still needed for the championship, which is part of the Australasian PGA Tour and has attracted entries from some of the world’s top professional players, as well as amateurs including Hollywood star Don Cheadle, a number of former All Blacks and other sporting, media and business notables.

The caddies are needed for all four days of the competition plus at least one practice round, and would need to be in Queenstown from Tuesday, March 27 until the tournament finishes.

Caddy Master and golf professional Andrew Whiley said caddying at the NZ PGA Pro-Am offered golfers and even non-golfers -- as long as they understood the sport -- a fantastic opportunity to experience the competition from the inside.

“Caddying is as close as you can get to the heat of the competition,” he said.

“In no other sport can you get onto the field and close to action like this, and it’s very exciting to be part of it, particularly for aspiring young golfers.

“The week promises to be very special, set in the magnificent environment of The Hills and working with great golfers and great people.”

Mr Whiley said he was looking for people who were fit and able to carry a golf professional’s tour bag around the course.

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“While this is a wonderful opportunity for young golfers, age is not an issue, but keeping to the caddy mantra can be. A good caddy is able to keep up and shut up!”

Tournament Director Michael Glading said the caddy programme would also be a great experience for the invited amateurs, many of which, have not previously played with a caddy.

“It will be a very cool experience for the amateurs seeded to play on the Saturday and Sunday [March 31 and April 1]. It will be like having someone else on their team, someone who takes the pressure off when it comes to making sure the clubs are where they should be and the bunker is raked, for example.”

Caddies will be assigned to PGA professionals on the first two days and continue with them for the last two days if the golfer makes the final cut. For the caddies of players who miss the cut in the NZ PGA Championship event there will be an opportunity to continue caddying over the weekend in the Pro-Am event.

Prospective caddies should visit www.pgachampionship.co.nz to register as soon as possible.

ENDS


Background Information

The Tournament Format: NZ PGA Pro-Am Championship
Up to 144 Professionals will tee up on Thursday [March 29] with the top 60 plus ties making the cut on the Friday [March 30] and progressing through to the weekend to play for the NZ PGA Championship.

A field of 64 Amateurs (friends, sponsors, celebrities) will play a seeding tournament on Friday 30th March at Jacks Point.

On the Friday night each Amateur will be placed with a Professional and that pair will play as a two-ball, best-ball team on the Saturday and Sunday for the inaugural NZ PGA Pro-Am Championship. Amateur handicaps will be actual to a maximum of 18.

The Course: The Hills
In its stunning amphitheatre encircled by the Remarkables Mountains, with 180 degree views taking in Coronet Peak and the Crown Range, The Hills has the x-factor as a tournament golf course.

Initially Michael Hill’s own private golf course, it was redesigned by Darby Partners to host the New Zealand Open in 2007. Set over 500 acres of former deer farm land close to Arrowtown, Central Otago, it is home to an incredible array of flora including native brown top grasses and wild native mountain tussocks. The Hills is proud to have hosted three consecutive New Zealand Open Championships since opening in 2007 and is looking forward to being the new home of the NZ PGA Pro-Am Championship and the NZ PGA Championship.

About the PGA Tour of Australasia
The NZ PGA Pro-Am Championship is sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia, the elite tournament destination for professional golf in Australasia. Encompassing events in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific with a total prize-pool of over AU$7.5 million, all tournaments on the PGA Tour of Australasia carry Official World Golf Ranking points.

Throughout the course of the season Professionals playing on the PGA Tour of Australasia compete for the title of Order of Merit Champion. Awarded the prestigious Norman Von Nida medal, past Order of Merit winners include Greg Norman, Peter Senior, Robert Allenby, Aaron Baddeley, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy and most recently Greg Chalmers.

As one of the leading professional golf Tours the world over, the PGA Tour of Australasia is a founding member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. The International Federation has taken on the responsibility of generating funds for the worldwide development and expansion of the game and the management of prestigious tournaments including the World Golf Championship.


ENDS

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