Journey to the Open

The New Zealand Open Charitable Trust (NZOCT) is proud to continue its support for the Journey to the Open event. This exciting initiative provides an opportunity for a junior golfer, from the region in which the New Zealand Open is hosted, to earn a spot to play as an amateur alongside a professional in the New Zealand Open field in February 2027.

This year to further align with a core part of the NZOCT mission – strengthening connections between local golf clubs, their members and the tournament while encouraging junior participation in golf across the region, the Journey to the Open competition will run as an integral part of the four Futures tournaments run by Golf NZ for the Otago/Southland region.

These tournaments will also include events for 9 hole and 18 hole competition to involve players across age groups, from beginners to elite players.

The four qualifying tournaments scheduled in Dunedin, Gore, Roxburgh and Wanaka will build the connection with Golf Clubs and their members in the region hosting the New Zealand Open tournament and should help to promote junior membership and involvement at the clubs.

The Journey to the Open qualifiers will compete in the finals event at Millbrook, Remarkables course, on Sunday January 17th, 2027the top three players on the day will advance to an exciting three person nearest-the-pin shootout to determine the winner of the amateur prize.

Journey to the Open 2026 - Summary

2026 saw the first edition of the Journey to the Open run by the New Zealand Open Charitable Trust (NZOCT) take place across Central Otago. This initiative was created by the
NZOCT to encourage junior golf in the region, build connections with local clubs, their members and the New Zealand Open tournament as well as provide an opportunity of a lifetime for a young golfer to play alongside a professional in the tournament.

The qualifying events were held at Arrowtown Golf Club, Cromwell Golf Club and Wanaka Golf Club with nine players qualifying to play in the finals event at Millbrook in January 2026.

With support from Callaway the nine finalists all received personalised golf bags as a gift (see photo gallery) which was a great start to the day for them. With families, friends and others supporting all the players it was a great day. The golf was tight and while the first two places for the playoff were clear (Toby Gallie and Yoonae Jeong) the third place was decided on countback between three players with Caydon Vlok-Ede getting the spot. It does just show that every shot counts especially on the back nine.

With the chance of lifetime on the line the nearest the pin playoff on the Par 3 18th began. As the highest points scorer Toby Gallie elected to go first, leaving his shot just short of the green. Yoonae, the only female in the final, stepped up next and found the green around 20 feet from the pin. Cayden then had the final shot – and he delivered under pressure, landing his ball around 10 feet from the pinto clinch the tournament trophy and the coveted pro-am spot.

Cayden then participated in the tournament and in his words “it was the best experience of my life. Of course I wanted to make the cut, but I got to play in the Hills event and won a Callaway 3 wood I needed. How good is that.”

His parents were also extremely grateful for the opportunity the Journey to the Open provided and in their words “We were proud to see Cayden learning, growing and soaking up every moment.

Opportunities like this shape young athletes in ways that go far beyond sport itself and we appreciate the opportunity Journey to the Open has given Cayden and others. It’s truly made a lasting impact.”

From a New Zealand Open Charitable Trust perspective the event, even it’s first year delivered. It was fantastic to see the tournament creating opportunities and connecting with aspiring young golfers in the region. The Journey to the Open is about giving these players something to aim for, and it certainly showed that it delivered that.

Journey to the Open 2027 - Qualifying Events

There will be four qualifying events this year held as part of the Golf Otago/Southland Futures tournaments.
These will be held at:

Dunedin Golf Club – Tuesday, 6th October
Gore Golf Club – Sunday, 1st November
Roxburgh Golf Club – Sunday, 15th November
Wanaka Golf Club – Sunday, 29th November

There will be either 9 or 12 spots available for Eligible Players for the finals event. This will be determined based on total numbers of entries. Our goal is to have 12 players in the final. The
finalists will be made up from:

Four automatic entries for the winners of each of the qualifying events
Five or Eight entries for the players, not already qualified, with the top aggregate stableford score from their best two scores across the four qualifying events
A leaderboard of qualifications scores will be kept available throughout the period of the tournaments
Eligible Players can play in all four events. It is the best two that count, so the more events you play in should improve your chances

For full details on player eligibility, tournament details and registration please see the registration pages:

Journey to the Open Registration (TBC)
Golf NZ Otago/Southland Futures events (TBC)

Journey to the Open 2027 - Registration

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Tournament
Name*
First Name Last Name
Date of Birth*
DD slash MM slash YYYY
Email Address*
Contact Number*
Please include country code (eg: +64)
Current Handicap Index:*
Please enter a number less than or equal to 18.
Club Membership*
Golf New Zealand ID Number*
Qualifying Events*
Which Qualifying Events do you wish to register for? Select at least two.
- Dunedin Golf Club - October 6
- Gore Golf Club - November 1
- Roxburgh Golf Club - November 15
- Wanaka Golf Club - November 29
Additional Information
Medical conditions
Accessibility requirements
Terms & Conditions of Entry
1. The Player, male or female, must be a member of a golf club in Otago/Southland from the time of entry to the conclusion of the 2027 New Zealand Open and can show residence, permanent or part-time, in the Otago/Southland region. 2. The Player must be at least 16 years old, at 25 February 2027 and still be 19 years old, at 25 February 2027 3. The Players handicap index must be less than 18.0 at the time of the qualification event. 4. The Player must have a parent/guardian who can accompany/oversee the player over the period of the New Zealand Open in the case they earn the Player spot. This is to cover issues of general pastoral care given there are events with alcohol present and large numbers of people. 5. Players that win one of the qualifying events earn an automatic finals place. 6. The remaining finals places (5 or 9) will be based on a leaderboard of the best two stableford scores from the qualification events. This means players must play in at least two qualifying events to register two scores. 7. In all cases a countback will used in the event of a tie 8. Players must demonstrate a level of golf etiquette and behaviour that shows they could cope with playing in the New Zealand Open and represent themselves, their club and the NZOCT well. 9. By entering the Journey to the Open, you agree that photos and videos may be taken of you and used for promotional, media and marketing purposes by the NZOCT, Host Club and the New Zealand Open.
Acceptance of terms*
- I agree to the Terms & Conditions of Entry

Journey to the Open 2027 - Registration

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