Hunter people will be in for a great eight days of men's and women's golf when the 2006 Greater Building Society International Amateur Championships get underway this week.

WHAT: The 2006 Greater Building Society International Amateur Championships.

WHEN:

• Women's championship from Thursday January 19 - Sunday January 22.
• Men's championship from Thursday January 26 - Sunday January 29.
• Men's pre-qualifying event is on Monday January 23.

WHERE: Belmont Golf Course, Pacific Highway, Belmont

Hunter people will be in for a great eight days of men's and women's golf when the 2006 Greater Building Society International Amateur Championships get underway this week says Greater Building Society Assistant General Manager Don Magin.

Mr Magin says people coming out to the Belmont Golf Course will have an opportunity to see current and future stars of golf in action.

He says that with a very strong local and international field, and improvements to the course, the championships are shaping up to be one of the best in recent years.

The men's field of 192 includes 23 players from seven countries. Players include Australian and World Junior Champion Jason Day from Queensland, 2003 European Young Masters Champion Ben Parker from England as well as 2004 European Young Masters Champion Zac Gould from Wales. 2004 winner Sarah Oh is favourite to take out the women's championship for a record breaking second time. Belmont golfers Rudi Bezuidenhout and Brendan Smith will be looking for some home course advantage.

Some of the world's top players including current US Open champion Michael Campbell, Steve Elkington, Vijay Singh and Mark O'Meara have played in the championship in previous years.

The Greater Building Society has been the major sponsor of the men's championship for the past 11 years. This is the second year that it has sponsored the women's championship.

Mr Magin says it has been pleasing to see the championships growing in stature. This year the men's championship has been awarded world ranking status by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. This means that results obtained during the championships go towards qualification for prestige events such as the British and US Amateur championships.

Last year the Greater Building Society extended its support of Australian golf by sponsoring the Queensland PGA.

"Golf is a sport enjoyed by many Australians and we are proud to play our part in supporting its development,"Mr Magin says.

"It is great to be involved in tournaments that support up and coming golfing talent from around the world."