{"id":12567,"date":"2024-11-19T07:04:48","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T18:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzopen.com\/?p=12567"},"modified":"2024-11-19T07:04:48","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T18:04:48","slug":"hataji-aiming-to-defend-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzopen.com\/news-media\/hataji-aiming-to-defend-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"Champion Hataji Aiming To Defend Crown"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Tournament organisers are excited to mark the 100 days to go milestone for the New Zealand Open by confirming that Takahiro Hataji, winner of the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport, will return to the fairways of Millbrook Resort in a bid to retain his crown.<\/div>\n
\n

Hataji created history with his win earlier this year, becoming the first player from Japan to win the New Zealand Open in its 103-year history. He held off a persistent stream of challengers on the final day with his bogey-free round of 4-under 67 to win by a single stroke.<\/p>\n

Since then, Hataji has stamped his mark on the golf scene winning both the Kansai Open in May and the Tokai Classic in September, his first-ever wins on the Japan Golf Tour. His 2024 record of playing on the Japan Tour is very impressive and has seen him break into the top 200 on the Official World Golf Rankings.<\/p>\n

Hataji obviously has fond memories of his time at Millbrook Resort and is looking forward to walking the fairways where he celebrated his first professional victory.<\/p>\n

“I am thrilled to be returning to Queenstown for the New Zealand Open next year,” he said. “Millbrook Resort holds a special place in my heart, and I\u2019m looking forward to reliving the memories and seeing some of the fans who were there during that final round.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, my aim is to try and win the tournament again, I would love to have my name on the trophy back-to-back. Playing in Queenstown is pretty magical, so hopefully, the memories help me push on and I progress up the leaderboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tournament Director Michael Glading is delighted that Hataji has confirmed he will return to Queenstown and has been following his progress throughout the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very much looking forward to welcoming Takahiro back to Millbrook Resort next year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s great to see him continue to play some great golf including picking up two more victories in Japan throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 104th<\/sup> New Zealand Open will tee off at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown between 27 February and 2 March 2025. For more information, please visit nzopen.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n

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Tournament organisers are excited to mark the 100 days to go milestone for the New Zealand Open by confirming that Takahiro Hataji, winner of the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport, will return to the fairways of Millbrook Resort in a bid to retain his crown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"Champion Hataji Aiming To Defend Crown | New Zealand Open<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nzopen.com\/news-media\/hataji-aiming-to-defend-crown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Champion Hataji Aiming To Defend Crown | New Zealand Open\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tournament organisers are excited to mark the 100 days to go milestone for the New Zealand Open by confirming that Takahiro Hataji, winner of the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport, will return to the fairways of Millbrook Resort in a bid to retain his crown. 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