LIV Golf & ex-PGA Tour stars to chase $2m prize purse at NZ Open

By Will Toogood

The New Zealand Open’s 104th edition will feature two LIV Golf stars and one of Japan’s finest chasing a $2 million purse and the Brodie Breeze Trophy.

Australian Lucas Herbert will return to Millbrook Resort as the tournament adds more names to the growing field before February 27. He joins Queenstown’s Ben Campbell as the second representative from LIV Golf, after the announcement in early January that Campbell had signed for Masters champion Bubba Watson’s RangeGoats team for the 2025 season.

Herbert was a key component of the Ripper GC LIV Golf team, captained by 2022 Open Championship winner and fellow Aussie Cam Smith, as they secured last season’s team championship.

The 29-year-old has five professional wins to his name including the Bermuda Championship on the PGA Tour, three wins on the DP World Tour and most recently the New South Wales Open on the PGA Tour of Australasia.

He said he was looking forward to his first time teeing it up in Queenstown since 2022, when he was a two-shots-back runner-up behind compatriot Brad Kennedy.

“I’m absolutely stoked to be returning to Queenstown for the New Zealand Open,” Herbert said. “It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve played and since I last played at Millbrook Resort, all I keep hearing is how the tournament is growing and getting better and better.

“The courses are challenging, the crowds are great and the competition is always top-notch. I’m really looking forward to being a part of such a fantastic event and seeing if I can go one better.”

Herbert’s return adds firepower to the tournament’s growing leaderboard, along with the news that Japanese golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa will headline a strong contingent of players from Japan at this year’s Open.

Ishikawa, 33, has enjoyed a storied career both on the PGA Tour and the Japan Golf Tour, with 21 professional victories to his name and a reputation for his impressive ball-striking and calm demeanour under pressure.

“I’m excited to visit New Zealand and compete in the Open,” he said. “I have heard a lot about the tournament and the courses at Millbrook Resort from the other players on tour who have played in the event, and everything I have heard has been really positive.”

After Japan’s Takahiro Hataji fended off the competition to become the first champion from the Land of the Rising Sun last year, several rising stars and accomplished players from Japan will feature in 2025, including a return by the No 6-ranked player in Japan, Ryosuke Kinoshita, who recorded nine top-10 finishes on the Japan Golf Tour in 2024.

Mikumu Horikawa and Taihei Sato, both of who finished top 25 in Queenstown last year, will also join the field. Overall, the strongest Japan Tour field on record brings nine of the top-20-ranked players from 2024 to New Zealand, a sure sign that Hataji’s victory last year has fuelled the flame of the Open in Japan.

NZ Open 2025
Where: Millbrook Resort, Queenstown

When: February 27 to March 2

How to watch: Sky Sport has exclusive live coverage and the Herald will have a live leaderboard and daily wraps of the action.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission