Local professional Luke Toomey can win his third Jennian Homes Charles Tour event on the trot and is in the box seat to win the Jennian Homes Trophy, a season-long points trophy, in the inaugural Christies Floorings Mount Open at Mt Maunganui Golf Club this weekend.
James Anstiss has had in his grasp on the overall trophy for much of the year but this weekend Anstiss isn’t teeing it up, and if Toomey finishes in a three-way tie for second or better, the trophy is his.
This is the first-ever Jennian Homes Charles Tour event held at Mt Maunganui and will include a Futures Pro-Am for the first time on the circuit which gives young people the opportunity to play with their favourite New Zealand professionals.
Mt Maunganui General Manager Michael Williams said the club is excited at being involved with the new initiative.
“We’ve been working closely with New Zealand Golf in being active in the junior golf space,” said Williams.
“Our Pro Shop has done a really good job over the last few years, and they came up with the idea to have a Futures Pro-Am where we run a mini version of what happens on the Wednesday of a regular four-round tour event.
“Hopefully this generates some interest and encourages a few more young people to give the game a go,” says Williams.
24 young golfers will tee it up alongside 12 professionals over nine-holes. Various sets of tees will also be laid out to cater for different course lengths to cover golfers of all abilities.
In the main event, Toomey looks set to top off a terrific season.
“It’d be pretty cool to take out that season-long title,” Toomey said.
“It’s New Zealand Golf’s version of the FedEx Cup I guess and it’s definitely something I’d like to be involved in.
“It’d be wicked to have James [Anstiss] here this week. When you want to win these things, you want to beat the guy who’s leading head-to-head and when they’re at the best. But the equation is pretty simple, win here and I win the Jennian Homes Trophy as well.
“It’s a challenge I’m very much looking forward to,” says Toomey.
Coming off his big two weeks of golf in Sydney, Denzel Ieremia will also be an attraction this week and the leading amateurs will also be challenging for the Grant Clements Memorial as part of the weekend.
Play gets underway on Thursday morning.
