A message from the New South Wales Government
On behalf of the New South Wales Government, I am pleased to welcome you to Sydney for the
2023 edition of the ISPS Handa Australian Open.
This year, the Australian Open in Sydney will create further history as the world’s first national open tournament bringing together the best men, women and All-Abilities golfers from around the globe to compete on the same courses at the same time in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 people.
With our best Australian golfers returning home to take on the world’s finest and the tournament village providing an even richer event experience, fans from across the country and overseas will line the fairways of The Australian Golf Club and The Lakes Golf Club and be entertained both on and off the course.
Major events like the Australian Open make a vital social and economic contribution to the state, attracting thousands of fans, players and officials, who make a significant contribution to the NSW visitor economy.
While you’re here, I hope you’ll enjoy some of the fine cultural offerings Sydney is famous for, from live music, galleries, museums and our beautiful natural locations as well as our thriving food scene.
I wish all competitors the best of luck and encourage visitors to explore the vibrant culture and natural wonders that all of NSW has to offer.
The Hon. John Graham, MLC
A Message from Golf Australia
It is with great excitement and anticipation that the ISPS HANDA Australian Open returns to Sydney with two fabulous courses, The Australian and The Lakes, hosting our country’s oldest and most prestigious golf tournament.
After last year’s successful world first of playing the men’s and women’s Australian Opens on the same courses at the same time, alongside the Australian All-Abilities Championship, the entire team at Golf Australia and I look forward to the eyes of the golf world falling on our national Open again.
Our 2023 event comes at a time when our sport is thriving with more Australians playing more golf, in all its forms, and at the end of a year when our leading professionals have once again excelled on tours around the world.
Hosting the men’s and women’s Opens alongside one another last year created history. It was the first national Open to do so, and the format was enthusiastically embraced by huge galleries and attracted global interest.
Golf Australia acknowledges the PGA of Australia, who together with the local PGA and WPGA Tours, have provided outstanding support to our national open and continue to work with us on an industry collaboration that sees golf going from strength to strength.
In 2023, Sydney gets to experience the joint Open format for the first time as we showcase the best of Australian golf.
A warm welcome goes to our overseas players who have come to Australia to support our event and thank you to all of our Australian players for their continuing contribution to our game.
We are extremely grateful to all our partners for the event, including: ISPS HANDA, whose worldwide contribution to golf as a sport is immeasurable; Destination NSW, who help promote the state as an incredible destination for golf tourists; and our broadcasters, Channel Nine and Fox Sports.
James Sutherland, Chief Executive
Welcome to the ISPS Handa Australian Open
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2023 ISPS HANDA Australian Open Championship. ISPS HANDA became the title sponsor of this iconic event for the first time in 2022 and we are delighted to see the event with its new format staged in the city of Sydney for the first time. We are also very pleased to continue our long-term relationship with Golf Australia, which has seen us share the common goal of using sport to achieve great outcomes for more than 15 years. As Nelson Mandela once said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair.”
ISPS HANDA believes sport plays an important role in the betterment of people’s lives and communities around the world. I’ve been very fortunate to have been supporting and involved with golf in Australia for more than 30 years and I have seen firsthand the important role golf has played in this country: strengthening communities, bringing people together and positively impacting the health and happiness of millions of Australians.
ISPS HANDA is passionately committed to increasing opportunities for people with disabilities to play sport and therefore we are immensely proud to have been the title sponsor of the Australian All Abilities Championship every year it has been held since its inception in 2018. We hope this event will further the initiative to include golf in the Paralympic Games, a goal we wholeheartedly support.
I wish all of the exceptional athletes gathered here the best of luck across this tournament, which will surely be an unforgettable event, filled with exceptional golf and sportsmanship, exemplifying the incredible feats that can be achieved through the power of sport.
Dr Haruhisa Handa
Welcome to the Australian All Abilities Championship
The All-Abilities Australian Championship plays a vital role in inspiring the next generation of people with a disability to golf – a sport for all.
This year, we have assembled our strongest field from around the world who are looking forward to the challenge of playing at The Australian Golf Club for the 54-hole championship.
After making a winning debut in our event in 2022, England’s Kipp Popert is back on Australian soil to defend his crown. He will be joined by Irishman Brendan Lawlor, currently ranked second on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability, after edging out his great rival in the first-ever G4D Open this year.
The two top-ranked men players will be joined by one of Australia’s top-ranked women, Natascha Tennent. At just 16 years of age, she will be making her AAAC debut after winning the gold medal at the Special Olympics world games in Germany earlier this year.
The Australian challenge will be spearheaded by our top-ranked duo, Lachlan Wood and Cameron Pollard, who have been sharing titles across the country in the past 12 months.
Thank you to the New South Wales Government for supporting the AAAC and all our efforts to help even more people with a disability enjoy the game of golf. You can’t be what you can’t see, and I look forward to the positive impact this championship will have on inspiring the next generation of All-Abilities golfers.
Christian Hamilton, Head of Programs & Inclusion, Golf Australia
A message from The Australian Golf Club
After the success of last year’s combination of the Men’s and Women’s Australian Open events, as well as the All-Abilities Championship, The Australian Golf Club is honoured to be co-hosting these events in 2023 in conjunction with The Lakes Golf Club.
In 1904, The Australian Golf Club hosted the inaugural Australian Open Championship, the Centenary Australian Open in 2004 and the 100th playing of the championship in 2015. This year, we welcome the championship for the 22nd time.
This will be the second time that The Australian Golf Club has hosted the women’s championship, and we are delighted that Ashleigh Buhai will return to defend her title. Watching the top female players in action is going to be a treat for all golf enthusiasts.
The All-Abilities event will be a 54-hole championship as it was in 2019 when we last hosted. All three rounds are to be completed at The Australian from Thursday to Saturday, and I am delighted to confirm that Kipp Popert will defend his title.
Cam Smith, Cam Davis, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee will be competing for the men’s title, so we are assured of a quality field. We look forward to watching these wonderful players challenge our course.
Since we last hosted the Open, we have continued to invest in course infrastructure. The club is currently undergoing a major refurbishment of the bunkers, adding drainage, installing a bunker liner to assist with the drainage process and replacing the sand that had become contaminated during recent rain events. We are ready!
The success of an event of this nature is highly dependent on volunteers and our sincere thanks go to all who will contribute to the event. We are also grateful to our members who have selflessly given up their course for the week, and we trust that they will enjoy the hospitality on offer at the club.
Paul Oneile, Captain
A message from The Lakes
The Lakes Golf Club is delighted to host our country’s most prestigious championship once again, the ISPS HANDA Australian Open.
This year marks the eighth occasion The Lakes will have hosted the men’s national Open and we are honoured to be hosting the women’s tournament for the first time, alongside our friends from The Australian Golf Club.
We are immensely proud of our club’s history in hosting our country’s most prestigious championships and are excited about the prospects to come this week when our renowned layout is back in the professional golf spotlight.
In the women’s event, we look forward to welcoming the defending champion, South Africa’s Ash Buhai, who will head up a field of incredibly talented women including Australia’s Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Gabi Ruffles, local hero Steph Kyriacou, and past champion Jiyai Shin from Korea.
Cam Smith, Adam Scott, Cam Davis, Min Woo Lee, and Lucas Herbert will headline a superstar Australian contingent in the men’s tournament as they try to take the title from the 2022 champion, Adrian Meronk, who heads up the visiting DP World Tour contingent.
As with every Australian Open, the dedication and commitment of our volunteers is crucial to the success of the championship. We would like to extend our thanks to all those volunteering their time.
On behalf of The Lakes Golf Club, welcome to all visitors, local or otherwise. We are sure you will enjoy all the tournament has to offer.
Steve Maidens, Club President
