Wills Classic

{{Infobox golf tournament

| name = Wills Classic

| image =

| location = Wellington, New Zealand

| establishment = 1960

| course = Royal Wellington Golf Club

| par = 70

| tour = New Zealand Golf Circuit

| format = Stroke play

| month_played = September

| purse = £NZ2,000

| final_year = 1964

| aggregate = 266 Ted Ball (1964)

| to-par = −14 as above

| final_champion = {{flagicon|AUS}} Ted Ball

| coordinates = {{coord|-41.139|175.020}}

| map = New Zealand

| map_label = Royal Wellington GC

| map_caption = Location in New Zealand

| map_relief = yes

| map_label_position =

| map_size =

}}

The Wills Classic was a series of golf tournaments held in Australia and New Zealand from 1960 to 1964. The first event in 1960 was contested by four players over nine different courses between 17 September and 2 October; the winner was determined by the aggregate score. Total prize money was A£5,100. The players were Stan Leonard, Gary Player, Mike Souchak and Peter Thomson. In 1961, the event became a 72-hole tournament with prize money of A£3,000. From 1963, the Australian tournament was replaced by the Wills Masters and the Classic event was moved to New Zealand. The New Zealand tournaments were part of the New Zealand Golf Circuit and had prize money of NZ£2,000. The sponsor was W.D. & H.O. Wills, a cigarette manufacturer.

Winners

class=wikitable style="font-size:95%"

!Year !! Winner !! Score !! To par !! Margin of
victory !! Runner(s)-up !! Venue !! Ref.

1964{{flagicon|AUS}} Ted Ballalign=center|266align=center|−145 strokes{{flagicon|AUS}} Barry Coxon
{{flagicon|AUS}} Bob Tuohy
Wellington{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107515076 |title=Ball takes five stroke win in Wills Classic |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=39 |issue=11,027 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=14 December 1964 |accessdate=22 April 2017 |page=18 |via=National Library of Australia}}
1963{{flagicon|AUS}} Bruce Devlin (2)align=center|287align=center|−54 strokes{{flagicon|AUS}} Ted Ball
{{flagicon|AUS}} Kel Nagle
Russley{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hqApAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VuYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2931%2C2261700 |title=Win to Devlin in N.Z. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=8 September 1963 |page=67}}
1962{{flagicon|AUS}} Bruce Devlinalign=center|281align=center|−76 strokes{{flagicon|AUS}} Ted BallThe Australian{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YQtiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NuYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6441%2C7385821 |title=Devlin in easy go - Six-stroke margin from Ball |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=28 October 1962 |page=67}}
1961{{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} Gary Playeralign=center|286align=center|−23 strokes{{flagicon|AUS}} Eric CreminThe Lakes{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dnxWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8uUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6386%2C7247397 |title=Player's triumph - Tragic shot fatal for Cremin |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 October 1961 |page=48}}
1960{{flagicon|AUS}} Peter Thomsonalign=center|633align=center|−153 strokes{{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} Gary PlayerVarious{{cite news |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131614975 |newspaper=The Cumberland Argus |title=Hard hitting Mike for golf classic |date=22 June 1960 |page=23}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nPpjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GeYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1378%2C6840618 |title=Souchak leads in tourney |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=18 September 1960 |page=19}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a-oiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O-YDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5648%2C3823233 |title=Marathon golf to Thomson |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=3 October 1960 |page=19}}

References