An awful lot happens at a golf tournament - and the three previous New Zealand Opens at The Hills tossed up plenty of memorable moments and intriguing interviews. As the countdown continues to the return of the Open, starting on February 27, Hayden Meikle and Dave Cannan cast their minds back.
Dave Cannan
The introduction (2007)
Five months before The Hills hosted the New Zealand Open for the first time, my ODT colleague Chris Morris and I were given a guided tour by owner Michael Hill and manager John Griffin. We even played nine holes.
It was the middle of winter - there had been a ripper of a frost in the morning - and we had to climb the hill to the elevated tee on the 15th hole. But instead of rushing to hit our drives, we just stood there, looking into the sun, and staring out across the golden tussocks that line the bright green of the dog-legged, heavily bunkered fairway.
No words were needed to describe that view but my summation - ''that's stunning'' - to a beaming Michael Hill was hopelessly inadequate. It's a scene, and a moment, I'll carry to my grave.
The great Sir Bob (2007)
At 71, most golfers would consider themselves light years past their ''prime'', much less a serious competitor in one of the toughest professional golfing tours. But Sir Bob Charles has never been like ''most golfers''.
So, when he defied all odds to make the cut at the 2007 NZ Open, with rounds of 75 and then an astonishing 68 (beating his age by three years) to be 4-under and tied for 37th, journalists just threw away the dictionary and searched for new superlatives.
In making the cut he had become the oldest person (71 years and 261 days) to do so on a major golf tour, eclipsing Christy O'Connor (64 years, 184 days, European Tour, 1989) and the legendary Sam Snead (67 years, 82 days, US PGA Tour, 1979).
Two days later, Sir Bob again beat his age to shoot a 70 and finish tied for 23rd, dashing any thoughts he may have had about retiring, albeit 44 years after his most famous victory, the 1963 British Open.
Ups and downs (2007)
Given this was the first major tournament played at the previously untested layout at The Hills, the 2007 Open was always going to have its scoring fluctuations, and, inevitably, its detractors.
At one end of the scale was Auckland-based Australian Peter ''Chook'' Fowler, who shot a remarkable 10-under-par 62 on the third day. However, his claims of a ''course record'' were disputed by the course designer, John Darby, because the troublesome par-3 16th was shortened, following numerous player complaints about it being ''too hard''.
At the other end of the scale, on the same day, was the quintuple bogey 10 shot by young New Zealand pro Doug Holloway on the par 5 17th, known as The Canyons, after he hit his drive into the huge tussocks. The next day, though, Holloway was all smiles after holing his second on the difficult par-4 14th for an eagle 2.
He built it, and they came (2007)
Arguably the biggest story to emerge from the 2007 NZ Open was the event's huge popularity with the public. When the final numbers were counted on the day Englishman Richard Finch won the title, there had been 32,372 fans who had gone through the gates, far exceeding any pre-tournament expectations of the course's owner, Michael Hill, promoter Bob Touhy or NZ Golf.
A significant factor in that success was The Hills' being almost perfect from a golf-spectating perspective, with many great vantage points around simply beautiful surroundings. After a spectacular closing ceremony, Michael Hill prophetically stated: ''I'm going to make this event famous; I doubt they will take the bloody thing off us.''
Sadly, after two more highly-successful New Zealand Opens at The Hills, the event was ''lost'' to a new venue, the Clearwater resort, near Christchurch.
Hayden Meikle
First cart ride around The Hills (2009)
I remember this as if it was yesterday. My experience of tournament golf was negligible, and I had never been to The Hills. A colleague, Matt Haggart, gave me a whizz around the course the day I arrived, and I fell in love. With the golf course, you understand, not my colleague.
Danny Lee's press conference (2009)
Before there were lots going loopy over Lydia, there were dozens going dotty over Danny. Lee had been under an intense media spotlight since winning the US Amateur, and he was a big drawcard for the New Zealand Open.
We first met Lee on the Tuesday before the tournament and he was quite charming. One of his great quotes came when we asked how he would feel if he got to play alongside the immortal Sir Bob Charles: ''If I am playing with Mr Bob, it will be such an honour and a great experience.'' Sadly, Lee did not get to play with Charles, and both men missed the cut.
Demsey overcomes illness (2009)
One of the great stories in the Open came when American Todd Demsey shot a 65 to share the lead after the first round. He had undergone surgery six years earlier to remove a brain tumour. Demsey finished in a tie for 13th.
The stolen pie (2009)
One of those stories that possibly only raises a smile to those of us who were there. It was rather tense in the press tent the day my colleague - not the aforementioned Haggart - swiped a magnificent pie from the oven and devoured it in four bites, only to discover it belonged to one of the Nationwide Tour's top brass. The pie owner was not impressed.
Johnson's hole-in-one (2009)
Every golf tournament needs an ace, and Welsh golfer Richard Johnson duly provided when he had a hole-in-one on the 15th, the ''party hole'', in the final round. It earned him 1500 bottles of beer from sponsor Heineken, and he finished in a tie for 10th.
Slightly grumpy Popeye (2010)
Most of the time, it is the caddies waiting for their golfers to finish media commitments. It was the other way round when the Otago Daily Times caught up with former rugby league hardman Tim Brasher. His golfer, popular Australian veteran Craig ''Popeye'' Parry, did not look best pleased when he snatched his clubs off his caddy, who was busy answering a question about the Balmain Tigers.
Every Bobby Gates press conference (2010)
I have said it before, and I will say it again. There was just something really endearing about Gates, the long, tall Texan. His wire-to-wire win was well worth celebrating.
Jay Delsing interview (2010)
The Nationwide Tour was great because it brought all sorts of fascinating golfers - rising stars, veterans, journeymen - to this part of the world. A case in point was Jay Delsing, a 49-year-old father of four who had then played in 561 PGA Tour events without a win.
AND his father played Major League baseball.
