Champ to miss Omanu | Rotorua Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Rotorua

Nothing is normally certain in any tournament but the 28th annual Omanu Classic provides one definite this weekend.

There will be a new champion with last year's winner Doug Holloway being whisked away on international duty in Argentina after Bay of Plenty's Josh Geary was stood down by New Zealand Golf earlier this week for using bad language during the recent Interprovincial tournament.

Geary now heads the 96 strong field for the 72-hole Heineken Imbide Classic with fellow international Riki Kauika from Manawatu/Wanganui.

The pair were involved in New Zealand's 21st finish at the World teams championships in Puerto Rico where Geary starred, finishing the fifth individual.

This weekend's field is top class with Geary's fellow Bay of Plenty teammates Jae An and Terry Hong also entered.

None of the Bay triple have won the Omanu title before.

Taupo's Jason McIntosh, another member of the champion Bay of Plenty representative side, was a late withdrawal after slicing a finger this week.

The Omanu course has been lengthened for an expected assault by many of the North Island's leading amateurs.

Club manager Keith Ellery said because of the technology available to players and how far they hit the ball some holes have been tweaked and there will be areas of rough for adventurous players to clear.

"It's just going to make it just a little bit more difficult," he said.

The normally easy short par five 10th will be played as a par four of 444 metres while the 11th and 13th holes have been lengthened to 378 and 542 metres respectively. The par four 5th has also been lengthened.

Ellery said there would still be plenty of chances for the players to attack and score but if they didn't get it right it would be tough.

The tournament also features the Mainfreight Mid Amateur section for players over 30 years of age.

Play gets underway from 7.30am tomorrow and should finish by 5.30pm each day.