The New Zealand Women’s Open, presented by Craigs Investment Partners, will make a landmark comeback in March 2027, jointly sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET) and the WPGA Tour of Australasia. The event marks the return of one of women’s professional golf’s premier circuits to New Zealand.
Backed by New Zealand Major Events and Auckland Council Events, the tournament will run at Wainui Golf and Function Centre from 18–21 March 2027, kicking off with a welcome event on 16 March and a Pro-Am on 17 March ahead of four days of championship play.
Leading the field is Dame Lydia Ko, the reigning Olympic champion and LPGA Hall of Famer, who has won this title three times before (2013, 2015, 2016). Her return gives the tournament a strong homecoming storyline as it once again brings together New Zealand’s golfing talent and the sport’s top international players.
“Playing in front of a home crowd in New Zealand is always something really special to me, and I’m thrilled the New Zealand Women’s Open is back. I grew up on the North Shore, so to have an event of this calibre at Wainui, just up the road, makes it feel even more like home.
“To return with the strength of the Ladies European Tour and WPGA Tour of Australasia behind it is fantastic for the game here, and I can’t wait to tee it up in March,” says Dame Lydia Ko.
A 132-player field will compete for a €400,000 (NZ$808,000) purse. True to the tournament’s history of supporting homegrown talent, Golf New Zealand has arranged field spots for a number of New Zealand’s top young amateurs and professionals who don’t already qualify, including the winner of the New Zealand Maori Golf Association Nationals Wahine title — giving rising local players the chance to compete alongside the world’s best.
The field will also draw from alumni of the Lydia Ko Scholarship mentorship programme, including LET players Amelia Garvey and Momoka Kobori, the Epson Tour’s Fiona Xu, and NCAA players Vivian Lu and Eunseo Choi.
Weekend rounds will be broadcast to 94 international markets, putting Wainui Golf and Function Centre and New Zealand golf in front of a global audience.
“We are delighted to welcome the New Zealand Women’s Open back to the Ladies European Tour schedule after a ten-year hiatus,” says LET CEO Tom Phillips.
“This announcement underlines our commitment to collaborating with valued partners to offer global opportunities to the world’s best players, whilst inspiring future generations to take up the game. New Zealand has a proud history of producing world class talent and passionate, knowledgeable golf fans.
“We look forward to bringing a truly international field of competitors to Wainui and Function Centre to celebrate and showcase elite women’s golf on the global stage,” Phillips says.
The LET’s involvement brings the tournament back onto its schedule for the first time in ten years, part of the tour’s broader push to widen playing opportunities for its members worldwide.
The event’s return is equally significant for the WPGA Tour of Australasia, which hasn’t included the New Zealand Women’s Open on its schedule since 2017. WPGA Tour chief executive Karen Lunn welcomed the news:
“We are delighted to have the NZ Women’s Open, presented by Craigs Investment Partners, back on our WPGA Tour schedule for the first time since 2017.
“It is going to be such a great treat for our members to return to Auckland to compete in the tournament next year, and in particular for them to have the opportunity to play alongside Lydia and a quality field of international players from the Ladies European Tour.
“Wainui Golf and Function Centre will be an incredible host venue for the tournament, and I am sure the crowds will be out in force to get a glimpse of a true icon of New Zealand sport, who first held the NZ Women’s Open trophy aloft as a 15-year-old back in 2013.
“We are most grateful to Golf New Zealand for their commitment to this tournament and to all of the event partners and sponsors for their role in bringing it to fruition,” says Lunn.
The tournament’s comeback also fits within the Government’s ongoing push to bring major international events to New Zealand, with the international broadcast offering a valuable platform to promote the country as a visitor destination. Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Hon Louise Upston welcomed the news, highlighting the tourism and economic upside of hosting a globally televised event of this scale in Auckland.
“Support from the Government’s Major Events Fund reflects the wider value of events like this.
“Alongside attracting visitors to see Dame Lydia Ko compete in Auckland, the broadcast coverage will showcase our spectacular golf courses and landscapes to global audiences, reinforcing New Zealand’s reputation as a world-class golfing destination,” Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says.
Craigs Investment Partners, already a key partner of Golf New Zealand, the New Zealand Open, and She Loves Golf, steps into the role of Presenting Partner for the Women’s Open as a natural next step in its support for women’s golf and efforts to bring more women and girls into the sport.
Craigs Investment Partners Chief Wealth & Markets Officer Jeremy Williamson says the partnership reflects how central women are becoming to both golf and the firm’s client base.
“We’re proud to become Presenting Partner of the New Zealand Women’s Open. Through She Loves Golf we already see, week in and week out, just how quickly women are taking up this game, and this event gives that momentum a worthy stage.
“Golf has always been a place where relationships are built and confidence grows and we can’t think of a better way to back that than standing behind Dame Lydia Ko and the next generation of players coming through behind her.”
For Golf New Zealand, bringing the championship back is about much more than four days of competition — it’s central to the organisation’s push to grow women’s participation in the sport nationwide.
Golf New Zealand CEO Jeff Latch says, “At Golf New Zealand we have set ourselves a goal of doubling the number of women and girls playing golf in this country, and events like this are exactly how we get there.
“There is nothing quite like seeing the best players in the world up close; watching how they carry themselves, how they compete, and we know that for a young girl standing greenside at Wainui, that experience can be the spark that starts a lifelong love of the game.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our own players, from our leading professionals to the amateurs in the field, to test themselves against the very best in the world right here at home. Competing on this stage, in front of New Zealand crowds, is exactly the kind of experience that helps develop the next generation of talent. We can’t wait to welcome the field, and the fans, to Wainui in March.”
