The hunt is on for two high performing female amateurs to compete in the professional field of the LPGA Tour’s McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open this spring.
Dubbed “The Search for the Next World #1”, the joint initiative will see high performance coaching group Institute of Golf co-founders Craig Dixon and Guy Wilson travel to Korea and China to assess golfers thanks to support for the project from national government agency Tourism New Zealand and local government agency Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED).
High performing female golfers will have the chance to register their interest in a free assessment to take place in Seoul on June 10 and 11, Beijing from June 13-15, and at the world-famous Mission Hills Dongguan June 17 and 18.
Assessments will be data driven, benchmarking the aspiring amateur golfers against current LPGA Tour stats to identify those with significant talent. The most successful golfers will be invited to Auckland in September, the weekend before the New Zealand Women’s Open is held at the newly opened Windross Farm, to participate in a 36-hole strokeplay event overseen by New Zealand’s governing body for golf, New Zealand Golf. The top two players in the strokeplay event will have their golf lives changed forever, with a full week inside the ropes as a competitor in the professional field of the New Zealand Women’s Open.
Institute of Golf co-founder Craig Dixon said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to visit Korea and China to meet with some of the most talented female amateurs. We have a proven history of identifying and developing talent, and are continually astonished by the level of players in Korea and China.”
The New Zealand Women’s Open is the first ever LPGA Tour event to be held in New Zealand and is fronted by New Zealand’s own golf superstar and world No.1, Lydia Ko. With a strong field expected and the event broadcast to a worldwide audience, this is the chance of a lifetime for two skilled amateurs.
Tournament director and managing director of The Clubhouse, Michael Goldstein, said: “It is exciting for us to open up this unique qualification pathway for two amateur golfers to play in the McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open. Our country has a great history of developing some of the world’s best golfers, and along with our partners we welcome more aspiring golfers to come to New Zealand to hone their games.”
The Institute of Golf’s co-founders, Guy Wilson and Craig Dixon, gained worldwide fame for their incredible work with Ko, who worked with the Institute of Golf from the age of 6 through to 16 in New Zealand. In the wake of Ko’s astonishing success, parents from around the world are turning to Institute of Golf for game improvement, university scholarship placement, and the hope that one day their child will follow in Ko’s footsteps. Institute of Golf has already successfully placed students into golf scholarships at universities including Harvard and Dartmouth in the USA.
To find out more, or register for an assessment, visit www.nextworldnumberone.com or follow We Chat ID instituteofgolf.
