Yeah that guy didn't know what he was talking about Tony. Not a good start Hawkes Bay.
By my count the Open has been held in Auckland eight times in the last twenty years, once in Christchurch, once in Wellington, nine times at Paraparam with no championship in 1990 because of a change of dates.
This feasibility study is a laugh. If Mr. Robertson wants the Open give it to him I say. It's the only way the tournament is going to get some credibility back after the Tiger debacle and years at forgettable Auckland courses like The Grange. The Aussies have habitually treated it like a poor cousin and given it shitty dates in January when Nobilo, Waite, Long, Perks, Tataurangi and our other top players are playing somewhere else. Next year there's even a British Open qualifier at Kingston Heath on the Monday morning after the tournament!
What they should do is give it to Napier for three years and see if the venue can attract a quality field in years two and three. It would look a lot better on TV than The Grange I know that much.
BTW, I reckon the subterranean sunset lounge would have been a sight to see!