The 105th New Zealand Open begins with a strong international field, celebrity ambassadors, and a coveted spot in The Open at Royal Birkdale up for grabs.

THE 105th New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort tees off this week with a 156-player field competing for a NZ$2 million purse and a coveted spot in The 154th Open.

This year marks the seventh consecutive edition jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, with the event also staged in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour.

The tournament retains its unique Pro-Am format, where the top 60 professionals plus ties and the top 40 Pro-Am teams progress after the second round, with the final round featuring the leading 10 teams.

Japan’s Kazuki Higa, the 2025 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion and the field’s highest-ranked player at world number 123, headlines the contenders after finishing runner-up here last year.

He is joined by a strong international lineup including Australian LIV Golf player Lucas Herbert, Thailand’s in-form Pavit Tangkamolprasert, and Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan, who is coming off a breakthrough 2025 season.

Local hopes rest with Queenstown resident Ben Campbell, a two-time Asian Tour winner who has twice finished second in his national Open, and defending champion Ryan Peake.

The event also features a notable celebrity ambassador programme, with surfing legend Kelly Slater, tennis great Ash Barty, cricketing icons Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming, and actor Michael Peña among those attending.

A key tournament incentive is its inclusion in the Open Qualifying Series, offering the leading non-exempt player who makes the cut a place in The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale this July.

The action will be played across Millbrook Resort’s Remarkables and Coronet courses for the first two rounds, with a composite layout used for the weekend on the resort’s stunning 650-acre property.

 The Sun Malaysia