Thanks to the rain that's fallen over the last three days, Lismore's golfers have a free Saturday as the Lismore Golf Course was deemed too wet to play yesterday afternoon.

Whilst that is not good news for local avid golfers, Lismore Workers Golf Club Captain Ross Pollack has announced that Lismore is to host a 2025 NSW Regional Qualifying Round for the Ford NSW Open.

That news is certain to put smiles on the faces of talented young golfers, not only in Lismore but the Northern Rivers, as they test their skills against some of the best professional and amateur golfers in NSW and around Australia.

With the Ford NSW Open Championship planned for mid-November, the six $50,000 lead-in events will attract competitors from across Australasia.

In addition to the lucrative purses at each event, three spots in the Championship are also up for grabs for the highest placegetters not already exempt into the November field.

With free entry to each venue and the chance to walk the fairways with the players, spectators can witness the sport's future stars in action up close.

The venues and dates for the six Regional Open Qualifying Tournaments are:

• Teven Valley Golf Course, 24 - 26 July, 2025
• Lismore Golf Club, 27 - 29 July, 2025
• South West Rocks Country Club, 30 July - 1 August, 2025
• Coffs Harbour Golf Club, 4 - 6 August, 2025
• Catalina Club, Batemans Bay, 17 - 19 September 2025
• Queanbeyan Golf Club, 21 - 23 September 2025

Olivia Wilson, General Manager – Golf at Golf NSW, said the Regional Open Qualifying Series events were perfect for an aspiring professional or elite amateur to kick-start their 2025/26 Australian Summer of Golf.

"The series, as it has done in recent years, can really help a future star of our sport get to the next level," Ms Wilson said.

"With a guaranteed place in the $800,000 Ford NSW Open, players will be aiming to lock up their spot in the NSW Open quickly."

Several players have put the qualifying spot to good use in past years by vaulting themselves into the sporting spotlight over the Australian summer. None more so than Corey Lamb, who parlayed his qualification last year at Queanbeyan into a runner-up finish at the 2024 NSW Open behind eventual winner, Ripper GC star Lucas Herbert.

"Corey Lamb is a great example of what you can achieve via the Qualifying series," Ms Wilson added. Graeme Phillipson, Chief Operating Officer at Golf NSW, said the tournaments were a welcome financial injection into the communities surrounding the host venues.

"The Regional Open Qualifying Series boosts the host clubs and surrounding towns. The players need somewhere to stay and places to eat & drink, so the visitor economy at each location does benefit, Mr Phillipson said. The 2025 Ford NSW Open and the NSW Open Regional Qualifying Series are proudly supported by the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.