{"id":9919,"date":"2023-02-17T15:30:11","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T02:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzopen.com\/?p=9919"},"modified":"2023-02-17T16:57:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T03:57:18","slug":"zunic-excited-for-new-zealand-open-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzopen.com\/news-media\/zunic-excited-for-new-zealand-open-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Zunic excited for New Zealand Open Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudcdn.nz\/_nzopen_\/assets\/uploads\/player-jordan-zunic-BMWOpen_51_480x270_acf_cropped.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"intro pullquote\" style=\"margin-bottom: 35px;font-size: 24px;font-weight: 300;line-height: 30px;padding-bottom: 30px;position: relative;\">In only his third professional start, Australian professional Jordan Zunic was crowned the New Zealand Open Champion back in 2015 after his 9-iron approach shot struck the flagstick and left him with a two-foot putt for the win.<\/div>\n<article class=\"\">\n<p>His win caused lots of emotion in the Zunic family due to a near-fatal car accident in Arkansas in August of 2013. Speaking to Fox Sports back in 2015, Zunic said:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy family were back home. I was just thinking about them and what it would mean for us as a family, so I was in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had worked really hard, but I couldn\u2019t believe it. That\u2019s why the tears came out,\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven though the accident was horrible, I feel it\u2019s made me stronger. I really appreciate life now. I realise how fragile it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After his victory in 2015, Zunic came runner-up to Cameron Smith in the 2017 Australian PGA Championship in a second extra-hole playoff, he won the Queensland Open in 2018 and has 32 top 20 finishes on the PGA Tour of Australasia.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about his return to the New Zealand Open, Zunic shares a special connection with Queenstown, and not just because of his victory back in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, Queenstown is a very special place for me, as it was my first professional win not long after having turned professional,\u201d said Zunic<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FNZOpenGolf%2Fphotos%2Fa.303083869761821%2F831812676888935%2F&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"478\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe New Zealand Open is always a very fun week; I love the location and the atmosphere that surrounds the event.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Zunic believes his game has developed positively since his rookie year on tour and credits much of the improvement in his game to observing those around him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel I&#8217;m a much better player overall than I was back in 2015, particularly with the mental side of the game. I have learnt a lot over the years playing on tour, especially when there are a lot of great players on the field. And watching the best ones get it done when it matters on Sunday afternoon is where you learn the most.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe New Zealand Open is also where I met my now wife back in 2015, and I am lucky that my wife\u2019s parents live on the course at Millbrook, so it\u2019s like my home away from home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spent some time at Millbrook over the recent Christmas break and was able to play the new course. I am really looking forward to playing it in competition, and there are some really cool holes to play.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy the highlights below of the final round of Jordan\u2019s 2015 New Zealand Open victory.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uuRIzanq5Ag\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"ad_wrapper\" style=\"overflow-y: scroll;-webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch;\">\n<div class=\"news_ads\" style=\"text-align: center;margin-top: 40px; max-width: none;width:1620px\"><a style=\"margin: 10px;float: left;width: 250px;display: inline-block;\" count=\"1\" class=\"ad\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/craigsip.com\/how-we-help?utm_source=nzopen app&#038;utm_medium=Banner&#038;utm_campaign=NZ%20Open&#038;utm_term=News%20Single\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block;max-width: 100%;height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudcdn.nz\/_nzopen_\/assets\/uploads\/CRA0026-RTB-NGGO-Banner_450x375px_Learn-More.jpg\"><\/a><a style=\"margin: 10px;float: left;width: 250px;display: inline-block;\" count=\"2\" class=\"ad\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sbsbank.co.nz\/?utm_source=nzopen app&#038;utm_medium=Banner&#038;utm_campaign=NZ%20Open&#038;utm_term=News%20Single\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block;max-width: 100%;height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudcdn.nz\/_nzopen_\/assets\/uploads\/SBS_NZOpen_WebAd_450x375px.jpg\"><\/a><a style=\"margin: 10px;float: left;width: 250px;display: inline-block;\" count=\"3\" class=\"ad\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rebelsport.co.nz\/shop-by-sport\/golf\/?utm_source=nzopen app&#038;utm_medium=Banner&#038;utm_campaign=NZ%20Open&#038;utm_term=News%20Single\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block;max-width: 100%;height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudcdn.nz\/_nzopen_\/assets\/uploads\/RebelSport_NZOpen2024_450x375_NoCTA.jpg\"><\/a><a style=\"margin: 10px;float: left;width: 250px;display: inline-block;\" count=\"4\" class=\"ad\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sky.co.nz\/discover\/sky-sport?utm_source=nzopen app&#038;utm_medium=Banner&#038;utm_campaign=NZ%20Open&#038;utm_term=News%20Single\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block;max-width: 100%;height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudcdn.nz\/_nzopen_\/assets\/uploads\/ss_nzopen_450x375.jpg\"><\/a><a style=\"margin: 10px;float: left;width: 250px;display: inline-block;\" count=\"5\" class=\"ad\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.millbrook.co.nz\/packages\/stay-and-play\/?utm_source=Sponsorship&#038;utm_medium=NZ+Open+Website&#038;utm_campaign=Stay+%26+Play+Campaign\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block;max-width: 100%;height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudcdn.nz\/_nzopen_\/assets\/uploads\/63922-Millbrook-Stay-Play-Digital-Display-Nz-Open-Ads-450x375px.jpg\"><\/a><a style=\"margin: 10px;float: left;width: 250px;display: inline-block;\" count=\"6\" class=\"ad\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manukadoctor.co.nz\/?utm_source=nzopen app&#038;utm_medium=Banner&#038;utm_campaign=NZ%20Open&#038;utm_term=News%20Single\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block;max-width: 100%;height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/cloudcdn.nz\/_nzopen_\/assets\/uploads\/MD-News-Article-450x375-1.jpg\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In only his third professional start, Australian professional Jordan Zunic was crowned the New Zealand Open Champion back in 2015 after his 9-iron approach shot struck the flagstick and left him with a two-foot putt for the win.<\/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":"<title>Zunic excited for New Zealand Open Return | 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\/zunic-excited-for-new-zealand-open-return\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zunic excited for New Zealand Open Return | New Zealand Open\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In only his third professional start, Australian professional Jordan Zunic was crowned the New Zealand Open Champion back in 2015 after his 9-iron approach shot struck the flagstick and left him with a two-foot putt for the win. 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