The WA Open Golf Championship will head to the City of Rockingham for the first time in its history when Secret Harbour Golf Links hosts the championship in October.
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The 102nd staging of Western Australia’s historic state championship will take place from October 15-18, and will serve as part of a two-week WA swing to kick off the ‘Summer of Golf’ on the 2026-2027 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule.
The first stop on the WA swing worth a total of $450,000 will be Kalgoorlie Golf Course for the CKB WA PGA Championship from October 8-11, the 15th year in succession that the outback mining epicentre has hosted the WA PGA.
The tour will then head an hour south of Perth to Secret Harbour where the spectacular oceanside layout will host its state Open and a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event for the first time.
Owned by TenGolf Group and located just a pitching wedge away from the Indian Ocean, the Graham Marsh-designed layout at Secret Harbour was built on undulating natural dunes to offer a true links golf experience.
It is routinely considered to be among Australia’s best public-access golf courses, although it was recently demoted outside Australian Golf Digest‘s biennial Top 100 Golf Courses ranking for the first time since the course opened.
In announcing Secret Harbour as WA Open host for 2026, Arron Minchin, chief executive for GolfWA, said its accessibility is part of the appeal.
“Providing opportunities for more people to play golf in all its formats is central to what we do at GolfWA,” Minchin said. “We’re grateful to TenGolf for hosting this year’s championship and very excited to be staging our premier event at a truly public facility.
“Secret Harbour is an outstanding golf course, and the fact that anyone can book a tee-time here is a great example of how accessible the game of golf really can be.”
Kim Felton, tour development manager for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia – and a three-time WA Open champion – added that the venue ticks all the boxes tour golfers would be looking for.
“As a first-time host of a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event, Secret Harbour will present a fantastic championship test,” Felton said. “There are several risk-and-reward holes that will make for extremely exciting golf, and when the wind gets up, it will challenge even the very best of what we expect will be a truly international field.”
City of Rockingham mayor Lorna Buchan welcomed the announcement, saying: “The City of Rockingham is delighted to welcome golfers, officials and visitors to the region, and looks forward to showcasing our renowned coastal lifestyle and local hospitality.”
Ben Sweeny, general manager of Secret Harbour Golf Links, added: “Secret Harbour is a really great course in a stunning location right near the waterfront. Hosting the WA Open is a great opportunity to showcase just how good our course is to a national audience.”
First staged in 1913, the WA Open boasts a star-studded honour roll, with past winners including Major champions Gary Player (1956), Greg Norman (1986), Kel Nagle (1950, 1951, 1952) and Ian Baker-Finch (1984).
Other past champions include two-time PGA Tour winner Ryan Fox (2014), LIV Golf star Elvis Smylie (2024), while WA golf icons Terry Gale, Stephen Leaney, Graham Marsh and Brett Rumford also have their names on the historic trophy.
South Africa’s Oliver Bekker is the defending champion after topping a high-quality field at Mount Lawley Golf Club in 2025 that included Ripper GC superstar, Marc Leishman.
