The Clearwater Golf Club at Clearwater Resort in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ĺtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
is a par-72 championship course that was most recently the home to the ISPS Handa NZ Women's Open from 2013 to 2016. It was also the former home to both the
BMW New Zealand Open
The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...
and the
New Zealand PGA Championship
The New Zealand PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the SEC NZ PGA Championship.
History
The tournament been played since 1909, with some gap periods. It was orig ...
that was staged on the
Nationwide Tour. Designed by John Darby in consultation with New Zealand golfing legend,
Sir Bob Charles
Sir Robert James Charles (born 14 March 1936) is a New Zealand professional golfer. His achievements over five decades rank him among the most successful left-handed golfers of all time, being the first lefty to win a major championship, winni ...
, the course combines elements of links golf inspired by the great Scottish courses with parkland golf, more reminiscent of Florida.
Clearwater hosted the inaugural
New Zealand Women's Open
The New Zealand Women's Open was a women's professional golf tournament on the ALPG Tour. It was founded in 2009 and became a co-sanctioned event on the Ladies European Tour the following year. The 2017 edition was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour a ...
in 2009 that was won by Frenchwoman
Gwladys Nocera, and at the time, the number-one player in Europe. She won by six shots from four players on eight under par.
The ISPS Handa NZ Women's Open returned to Clearwater in 2013 and was won by
Lydia Ko who was playing as an amateur. Lydia became not only the first New Zealand woman to win her national tournament but also the youngest player to ever win a
Ladies European Tour event.
In 2014 South Korean Mi Hyang Lee scored a course record final round of 63 (9 under par) to win the championship by 1 shot from Lydia Ko.
The 2015 ISPS Handa NZ Women's Open featured Lydia Ko, then ranked as the World number 1 player, and
Charley Hull who topped the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit in 2014. Record crowds witnessed Lydia Ko set a new course record in the second round, and a career low score for herself, of 61. Incredibly the three ball of Lydia Ko (61), Charley Hull (64) and Su-Hyun Oh (66) recorded a combined score of 25 under par. Lydia Ko won the tournament to claim the title for the first time as a professional.
In 2016 Lydia Ko returned to claim her 3rd ISPS Handa New Zealand Women's Open title, and maintained her record of never having shot a round over par at Clearwater.
Golf clubs and courses in New Zealand
Sports venues in Christchurch
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