Queenstown is a place for all seasons, and players in this year\u2019s New Zealand Open have certainly experienced several of them so far this week.<\/p>\n
Stunning practice-round weather gave way to rain on the opening day of the championship, as temperatures plummeted and forced players to play improvised and resourceful golf in challenging conditions at Millbrook Resort.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Kevin Na has found his happy place in Queenstown<\/a><\/p>\n Leading the way in a first round delayed three hours by the morning rain is Matias Sanchez, who shot a bogey-free 64 to reach seven-under-par. The 27-year-old Victorian completed his round shortly before darkness fell thanks to the late start.<\/p>\n The former Australian Amateur champion is seeking a second win of this PGA Tour of Australasia season after Sanchez claimed the Webex Players Series South Australia event<\/a> last October.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just really happy to get it done, get the round in,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cThis [event] is right up there, so to do it here, it\u2019s really special, but I know it\u2019s a quarter of the way down. It doesn\u2019t really mean a whole lot.\u201d<\/p>\n A stroke behind at six-under but with his round incomplete is Japanese amateur Yuki Miya, who made an eagle and four birdies in his first 13 holes but will complete the last five holes of his opening round on Friday morning.<\/p>\n Behind them are a pair of veterans in American Kevin Na and Adelaide\u2019s Wade Ormsby [main image], who both carded five-under-par rounds on opposite courses at Millbrook, while Kiwi Daniel Hillier also sits five-under after 13 holes.<\/p>\n Each of the leaders\u2019 rounds came at the gentler Remarkables course, while Ormsby and Hillier toiled with success on the more difficult Coronet layout.<\/p>\n Ormsby, who two weeks ago filled in as Phil Mickelson\u2019s replacement for the HyFlyers GC side at LIV Golf Adelaide<\/a>, is motivated to win on the PGA Tour of Australasia, something the 45-year-old is yet to do in a distinguished career.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to get in the hunt to try to win some golf tournaments,\u201d Ormsby said. \u201cEspecially on the Aussie tour; I\u2019ve never won on the Aussie tour and that\u2019s something that I\u2019ve always wanted to do. So it\u2019s nice to put myself towards the pointy end early in the week.\u201d<\/p>\n Ormsby is also content with what looks to be a fragmented playing schedule for the rest of the tournament. As the New Zealand Open includes amateur teammates playing alongside the pros, groups of four are scheduled across the timesheets for all four days, leaving no window to play catch-up on the time lost today.<\/p>\n As someone who plays a lot in Asia where afternoon storms can wreak havoc in the same way, Ormsby is happy to draw on his experience and patience the rest of this week.<\/p>\n Opening round action: @kevinna915<\/a>\u2019s top moments \ud83c\udf9e\ufe0f #NZOpen<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/u5wLkACnhR<\/a><\/p>\n — New Zealand Open (@NZOpenGolf) February 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n