The tournament yesterday announced American actor Michael Pena would be a special guest and play in the accompanying pro-am.
Pena, 49, has established a solid Hollywood career over two decades.
The son of Mexican immigrants grew up in Chicago and was a talented athlete and wrestler.
As an actor, his breakthrough came in 2004 when he appeared in two critically acclaimed movies, Crash and Million Dollar Baby.
Pena starred in Oliver Stone’s 9/11 movie, World Trade Center, appeared alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in cop drama End of Watch, and was one of Matt Damon’s crewmates in The Martian.
He has also been in the Ant-Man movies as part of the Marvel series, and starred in television shows Narcos: Mexico and Jack Ryan.
Pena name-dropped a couple of Hollywood greats when he was asked by Golf Journal a couple of years ago how he first got into golf.
‘‘I was introduced to it by Jack Lemmon and James Garner when I did my first movie, My Fellow Americans.
‘‘That was also when Tiger Woods burst on to the scene. I saw his 1997 Masters win and thought, this is different. He looked like an athlete. There was a mystique around him.
‘‘Then later, I was at a driving range in North Carolina and the guy running it said, ‘You see that VW Bug out there? Try to hit it.’ It took me seven buckets to do it. I was hooked."
Pena told the publication he played golf three or four times a week.
He made a hole in one at the Bob Hope Classic in 2009.
Pena will be playing alongside friend and Australian professional Austin Bautista at the New Zealand Open.
"I’ve always admired the beauty of New Zealand and I love playing golf," Pena said in a statement.
‘‘To play in a national open, alongside Austin and the other professionals as they play for the title, will be really exciting.
"I’m looking forward to experiencing the event, Queenstown and the famous Kiwi hospitality."
