BMW ISPS Handa New Zealand Open attracts impressive line-up of Japan Tour players

A hugely powerful contingent of Japan Tour (JGTO) players is heading to Queenstown for the BMW ISPS Handa New Zealand Open in March 2016.

No fewer than eight separate winners on the Japan Tour in 2015 are included in the Queenstown field, including two players (Yusaku Miyazato and Yoshinori Fujimoto) ranked in the world’s top 100. Overall a 26-strong line-up from the Japan Tour has been confirmed for the event, compared to 21 last year.

Amongst those 26 players are 12 of the top 30 from the Japan Tour 2015 money list, compared to seven last year.

BMW ISPS Handa New Zealand Open Tournament Director Michael Glading says he’s “thrilled” with the high quality group of players challenging for this year’s title.

“It’s an indication of the growing strength and depth of the partnership between the BMW ISPS Handa New Zealand Open and the Japan Tour,” he says. “The money list is a great indicator of the calibre of these players from the Japan Tour, and we’re expecting many of them to be ‘in the hunt’ as the tournament heads into its final days.

“They might not be household names in New Zealand, but all of them are very well-known in their home countries and within SE Asia.

“The relationship with the Japan Tour is a huge boost to our tournament both competitively and commercially, and perfectly complements the addition of our new major funding partner, Japan-based non-profit corporation ISPS Handa, as a co-naming rights sponsor.”

Leading the JGTO challenge is Yusaku Miyazato, who finished second on the Japan Tour money list last year, and he’s joined by ‘one to watch’ Yoshi Fujimoto. Add eleven-times Japan Tour winner Hideto Tanihara to the mix, and its game on – Tanihara has won 11 times in Japan, notching up career earnings of NZ$11.6m.* Full list of players bios attached

The BMW ISPS Handa New Zealand Open continues to receive significant support and investment from Japanese corporates such as Oji Holdings, Sumitomo Forestry and JTB.

The tournament has also encouraged Japan’s leading golf television network to send a crew to New Zealand to broadcast live coverage of the event to over 7.8 million homes in Japan.

The BMW ISPS Handa New Zealand Open is a Tier One event on the PGA Tour of Australasia, in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour.  The 2016 event will be played from March 10 to March 13 at two iconic Queenstown courses, The Hills and Millbrook.

For further information, latest updates and to book tickets go to www.nzopen.co.nz