England Cricket Greats To Play New Zealand PGA Championship Pro-Am

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said that a funding injection by the government of NZ$650,000 ($531,000) for the NZ PGA Championship next year is "important to promote New Zealand on the world stage," according to the APNZ. At a launch for next year's event, PGA Championship Chair John Hart said that the support of sponsors "had led to an increase in prize money" from NZ$500,000 to NZ$600,000 ($409,000 to $490,000) for the event. Next year's Championship will also see English cricketing celebrities Ian Botham and Tony Greig tee-off in the pro-am. The increased prize money "elevates the tournament to a tier-one status" on the PGA Tour of Australasia and is expected to help attract "an even stronger international line-up" of golfers (APNZ, 10/11).