Kiwi Nick Voke believes he has a strong home course advantage in his corner as he tries to achieve a career-changing victory at the inaugural ISPS HANDA Japan-Australasia Championship, starting on Thursday.
Voke is a member at the host club, Royal Auckland and Grange Golf Club, and is counting on the extra knowledge he’s gained over almost a decade of regular play giving him an edge over almost everyone else in the 156-man field.
It’s the first professional event on the course since the 2004 NZ Open, won by Queenslander Terry Price at the then-Grange Golf Club.
A winner on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia last year at Webex Players Series Sydney, Voke is one of three professionals in the field this week who are Royal Auckland and Grange members, joining Jared Edwards and Cam Harlock.
“I doubt many of the other guys, especially the Australians, have played the course before and it's a sort of place where you want to know where to not hit it,” Voke said.
“There's a few rounds here with the boys where you miss a green in a certain spot, you're making bogey at best.
“You need to be smart enough and disciplined enough to keep it under the hole in the right quadrants of the greens and Jared and Cam and all us, we understand that. And so hopefully it pays off.
“I'm just really curious to see how it play. How the tournament director's going to set it up. How challenging can they make it?
“Do they want 20-under [as the winning score]? Do they want 2-under? They have all the options, so we'll see how it all plays out.”
The only adjustment for Voke this week is that his preparation is different to any other tournament on tour, starting with not being based in a hotel or AirBnb.
“It's the first event I've played in probably 15 years where I'm sleeping in my own bed. It's so bizarre,” he said.
“I woke up this morning and usually you have a process. You go to the gym, you do all the stretching stuff and I'm like, it feels just like a normal week. It's kind of strange.
“But then when you get here, you see everyone around, you see all the tour reps and the grandstands, you know we're here for business, and so it's really cool.”
A win on Sunday would have huge consequences, almost certainly lifting Voke to the top of the Challenger PGA Tour Order of Merit with just two events remaining and a two-year exemption on the Japan Golf Tour, which is the co-sanctioning partner this week.
The Order of Merit No.1 spot earns a DP World Tour card and a place in The Open Championship.
He starts the week in 15th place on the OOM, but the 760 points on offer to the winner this week are equal to the maximum on offer at any tournament over the 2025/26 season, opening the possibility of a jump to the top spot.
“We didn't have the greatest week last week [at the New Zealand Open], finishing in the mid-50s, but one good week here and it’s different equations into next week.”
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