SBS Golf Invitational

This annual Tournament is New Zealand’s most important team’s stroke-play event. Played yearly at the SBS Invercargill Golf Course in early March, New Zealand’s leading amateur players enjoy the best of Southland hospitality.

In its 32nd year with SBS as sponsor the Invitational tees off on the 6th of March, 2009 at the Invercargill Golf Club in Otatara. We'd love to see you down there. Check this site for up to date information.

The Tournament	Teams	Sponsorship
The Committee	Draws	Recipient Charities
The 2008 Event	Results	History
2008 Programme	Photo Gallery	Previous Winners

The Tournament

TOURNAMENT OBJECTIVES

To encourage and expose amateur golf locally and support and encourage amateur golf on a national basis.
To provide the opportunity for our many Sponsors and Patrons to support deserving charitable organisations in a special and satisfying way.
To provide the opportunity for all golf and service clubs in Southland to become fully involved and integrated in a project through the incorporation of a special teams event within the Am Am tournament.
To provide a permanent tournament in Southland along similar lines to the Eisenhower Teams Event for New Zealand’s top amateur players.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT

Friday 6th March 2009 - Am Am Tournament

A Four ball best ball teams event where sponsors are drawn to play with the invited representative team players, in teams of four.

Saturday 7th March / Sunday 8th March 2009 - Invitational Tournament

72 hole teams championship with the four lowest scores from each team counting in each round - stroke play.

Rounds one and two will be played on Saturday 7th March 2009.
Rounds three and four will be played on Sunday 8th March 2009.

The draw for rounds three and four will be made according to Saturday’s scores and will be available on the course.

SBS Golf Invitational Committee

Chairman - Peter Sim

Tournament Director - Graeme Scott

Secretary - Mrs Kaye Leitch

Members - Rex McDonald, Innes Forbes, Lenore Harvey, David Bakker, Noel Hinton, Graham Sherlock, and Helen Jennings.

THE 2008 EVENT (OUR 31st ANNIVERSARY)

The SBS Golf Invitational is on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th March 2008, with all 15 provincial associations to be represented along with an international team from Australia.

An AM AM event is held on Friday 7th March 2008 at the SBS Invercargill Golf Club course, which is the day when all local golfers are drawn to play with a provincial representative. The prizegiving for this event will be held in the Clubhouse at the SBS Invercargill Golf Club at the conclusion of play (approx 7.15 pm).

IMPORTANT notes about Entries

To enter for 2008 please contact our Secretary Kaye Leitch on 211-0700 work, 217-9255 home or e-mail lkleitch@xtra.co.nz. Be in quick as it is a first in first served basis.

Closing date for players names

The closing date for players names for the 2008 Am Am tournament will be Sunday 10th February 2008. We ask that you are able to nominate your playing representatives by this date so that the draw can be prepared as quickly as possible thereafter.

Am Am Draw

The Am Am draw will be published in The Southland Times on Tuesday 4th March 2008.

2008 Programme

Click here for the 2008 SBS Golf Invitational Programme.

2008 Teams

Click here for the 2008 Teams list.

2008 Draws

2008 Charity 4BBB - Wednesday 5th March 2008 at Queens Park Golf Club

2008 AM AM Draw - Friday 7th March 2008

2008 Results

Check here for 2008 SBS Golf Invitational results.

Sponsorship

2008 Sponsors List

THERE ARE THREE LEVELS OF SPONSORSHIP

WHO BENEFITS from this event?

The SBS Golf Invitational Committee will be seeking applications from Southland based Charitable Groups for selection as this year’s nominated charity. Click here for a copy of the application form - please return to your local branch

Following selection, promotion of the chosen group and the tournament will occur. As in previous years Southland Junior Golf will be the second beneficiary.

As is customary the Charity 4-Ball Tournament will be held on the Wednesday prior to the Invitational (at Queens Park) and is a great way for golfers to get involved early in this week of golf.

The charitable nature of the tournament means that during the past 29 years over $200,000 in total donations have been made to Southland organisations.

SBS Golf Invitational Recipient Charities

We are pleased to announce this year's Recipient Charity is IHC Southland and Gore

If you would like to be considered as the Recipient Charity of the 2009 Event contact us now on 0800 502 442

Click here to see a list of the previous recipient charities

Would you be interested in supporting this unique Southland Event? One that is officially recognised as the National Provincial Teams Stroke Play Championships by New Zealand Golf, and is compulsory for all amateur golfers wishing to play for New Zealand.

Please contact our Secretary Kaye Leitch on 211-0700 work, 217-9255 home or e-mail lkleitch@xtra.co.nz.

History

The inaugural Southland Amateur Golf Invitational was ‘born’ as a result of frustration at the loss of the New Zealand Open Tournament which had been scheduled to be played at the Otatara Golf Course in 1977.

A group of golf enthusiasts then considered alternatives for staging their own tournament and although the idea appealed to the golf administrators, the feeling was that there was too little time available to organise an event of this size. Despite this, the original enthusiasts proceeded with (in hindsight) blind faith that the job could and would be done, and the 54-hole teams competition for provincial teams, preceded by a four-ball charity event held on 11-13 November 1977, was a huge success.

A second tournament was discussed with the team managers in attendance at the inaugural competition and they agreed - the format was satisfactory, that an event of this nature was necessary on the national calendar, but that a change of dates from November to March was needed to avoid a clash with the New Zealand Interprovincial Match Play Tournament.

It was decided that the second tournament be held in March 1979, and by this time the New Zealand Golf Association had made available a trophy, the Macquarie Cup, to be competed for annually and presented to the winning provincial association.

In 1990 an additional trophy was presented by two members of the original committee, the Founders Trophy, to be awarded to the best performed provincial team over two rounds (on day two) from the bottom placed seven teams after the first day’s competition. This has added an extra incentive for teams supposedly out of the main competition after the first day’s play.

The SBS Golf Invitational is now an established event on the national golfing scene and with the change in status to the New Zealand Interprovincial Teams Strokeplay Championship has joined the New Zealand Amateur and the New Zealand Interprovincial Match Play Tournament as one of the big three events on the National Amateur Calendar.

The SBS Golf Invitational is unique. It is the only nationally recognised 'open' tournament based upon the format used for the Eisenhower and Espirito Santo World Amateur Teams Championships.

The 2007 tournament has attracted teams representing all 15 provincial associations comprising the New Zealand Golf Association and a Senior Men's team from Australia. The four best scores, from a team of 5 players, from each round are counted towards the team aggregate and the winner is the team with the lowest 72 hole total.

It is an honour that such a prestigious national tournament continues to be based in Southland and organisers can feel justifiably proud of this achievement. On a number of occasions in the past, visiting team managers have paid tribute to the organisers on their magnificent efforts in staging such a competition, a feat which in their opinion, their association would have difficulty in duplicating.

The enthusiasm of numerous local businesses and individuals in sponsoring The SBS Golf Invitational provides the opportunity to encourage and expose amateur golf both locally and nationally.

A large number of professional golfers currently performing with distinction on various circuits around the world, have participated in the Invitational during their amateur careers - Phillip Tataurangi, Grant Moorhead, Steven Alker, Grant Waite, Michael Campbell, Marcus Wheelhouse, Elliot Boult, Greg Turner, Stephen Scahill and David Smail to name but a few.