The SBS Invitational was a 72-hole amateur stroke-play team championship played, from 1977 to 2015, between the 15 golf associations of New Zealand. It also acted as the New Zealand Teams Stroke Play Championships. It was permanently hosted at the Invercargill Golf Club in Otatara, Invercargill. It was mostly played in the first weekend of March, although later events were played at other times. It was played for the Macquarie Cup. To celebrate 30 years of the Invitational, a team from Australia was sent to compete in the tournament. The event was axed in 2016 because of scheduling problems.
Format
Played on Saturday and Sunday, a 72-hole team championship with the four lowest scores from each team of five counting in each stroke-play round. The teams included Aorangi, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu/Wanganui, North Harbour, Northland, Otago, Poverty Bay/East Coast, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, and Wellington.
Macquarie Cup
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Southland | 923 |
| 1979 | Auckland | 885 |
| 1980 | Otago | 1167 |
| 1981 | Auckland | 1169 |
| 1982 | Canterbury | 1200 |
| 1983 | Canterbury | 1163 |
| 1984 | Canterbury | 1194 |
| 1985 | Southland | 1191 |
| 1986 | Canterbury | 1164 |
| 1987 | Auckland | 1169 |
| 1988 | Auckland | 1181 |
| 1989 | Wellington | 878 |
| 1990 | Canterbury | 1177 |
| 1991 | Auckland | 1166 |
| 1992 | Wellington | 1145 |
| 1993 | Auckland | 1187 |
| 1994 | Tasman | 1163 |
| 1995 | Tasman | 1179 |
| 1996 | Wellington | 1169 |
| 1997 | Canterbury | 1186 |
| 1998 | Canterbury | 1154 |
| 1999 | Wellington | 1148 |
| 2000 | Canterbury | 1130 |
| 2001 | Bay of Plenty | 1167 |
| 2002 | Manawatu/Wanganui | 1167 |
| 2003 | Bay of Plenty | 1144 |
| 2004 | Waikato | 1139 |
| 2005 | Auckland | 1152 |
| 2006 | Bay of Plenty | 1176 |
| 2007 | North Harbour | 1141 |
| 2008 | Auckland | 1171 |
| 2009 | North Harbour | 1158 |
| 2010 | Auckland | 1130 |
| 2011 | Auckland | 1142 |
| 2012 | Manawatu/Wanganui | 1133 |
| 2013 | Auckland | 1144 |
| 2014 | Bay of Plenty | 881 |
| 2015 | Otago | 1184 |
- Played over 54 holes in 1977, 1979, 1989 and 2014
Player of the Tournament
| Year | Winner | Province | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | C E Taylor | Waikato | 221 |
| 1979 | P K Creighton | Auckland | 217 |
| 1980 | Rodney Barltrop | Wellington | 284 |
| 1981 | N A Gaskin | Manawatu/Wanganui | 285 |
| 1982 | J N Williamson | Canterbury | 292 |
| 1983 | Michael Atkinson | Otago | 283 |
| 1984 | J N Williamson | Canterbury | 292 |
| 1985 | N A Gaskin | Manawatu/Wanganui | 288 |
| 1986 | G W Goldfinch | Auckland | 286 |
| 1987 | F J Poskitt | Canterbury | 292 |
| 1988 | L G Phelps | Wellington | 291 |
| 1989 | B G Paterson | Canterbury | 214 |
| 1990 | H Morgan | Tasman | 287 |
| 1991 | Steve Alker | Waikato | 283 |
| 1992 | Tony Christie | Canterbury | 281 |
| 1993 | Marcus Wheelhouse | Auckland | 290 |
| 1994 | G Domigan | Tasman | 285 |
| 1995 | M Lloyd | Bay of Plenty | 291 |
| 1996 | G MacFarlane | Bay of Plenty | 283 |
| 1997 | David Rattray | Southland | 288 |
| 1998 | Carl Brooking | Canterbury | 282 |
| 1999 | Reon Sayer | Wellington | 280 |
| 2000 | Gareth Paddison | Wellington | 279 |
| 2001 | K Skellern | Bay of Plenty | 288 |
| 2002 | Tim Wilkinson | Manawatu/Wanganui | 279 |
| 2003 | Matthew Holten | Waikato | 275 |
| 2004 | Joshua Carmichael | North Harbour | 278 |
| 2005 | Kevin Chun | Auckland | 279 |
| 2006 | David Rattray | Canterbury | 286 |
| 2007 | Rohan Blizard | Australia | 273 |
| 2008 | Sean Riordan | Tasman | 286 |
| 2009 | Scott Johnson | North Harbour | 281 |
| 2010 | Simon Brownlee | North Harbour | 279 |
| 2011 | Ryan Fox | Auckland | 280 |
| 2012 | Blair Riordan | Tasman | 276 |
| 2013 | Brent McEwan | St Clair | 273 |
| 2014 | Luke Toomey | Waikato | 214 |
| 2015 | Ryan Chisnall | Tasman | 287 |
- Air New Zealand Cup 1977–2002
- Russell Haywood Memorial 2003–2015
References
- Savory, Logan (12 August 2016). "Premier Southland golf tournament axed after 40 years". Stuff.co.nz.