There’s plenty of opportunities for the players to be motivated by at this year’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open. By Evin Priest
Spots up for grabs at the 153RD Open Championship
The 2024 ISPS Handa Australian Open is part of the Open Qualifying Series (OQS) for 2025, an initiative from the R&A designed to offer golfers from around the world a series of tournaments that feature qualifying into The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush. The OQS comprises a series of professional tour events across multiple continents in an effort to globally spread the avenues to golf’s original major.
The Australian Open awards three spots to the highest finishers not already exempt into The Open. When there is a tie on the leaderboard, the tiebreaker is that the player with the higher world ranking (as published at the start of that week) will be awarded a place in The Open.
Last year, Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who won the Australian Open, as well as runner-up Rikuya Hoshino and Adam Scott, secured their spots in The 152nd Open at Royal Troon. Scott went on to finished T-10 at Troon.
How does it work? The Australian Open’s mixed format explained
For the third straight year, the ISPS Handa Australian Open will use its unique, mixed format. The men’s, women’s and all-abilities tournaments will be played concurrently over two courses – The Victoria Golf Club will share host duties for the first two days while Kingston Heath will serve as the primary host with play all four days. Rounds three and four will be held only at Kingston Heath.
The men’s field will be comprised of 156 players and 84 women, and each event will compete for prize purse of $1.7 million ($3.4 million across two tournaments). The Australian All Abilities Championship (AAAC) will field the top-12 ranked golfers with a disability as part of the G4D Tour. The event is supported in its entirety by Visit Victoria.
Like last year, there will be a cut made to both the men’s and women’s fields after 36 holes. All players who make the cut earn a cheque, with male and female professionals earning the equivalent figure per finishing position.
The AAAC, which is 54 holes, will conclude on Saturday, November 30, while the Stonehaven Cup and Patricia Bridges Bowl will be lifted by the men’s and women’s champions on Sunday, December 1.
Melbourne’s iconic Sandbelt region hosted the inaugural mixed Australian Open in 2022. It was the first time in 20 years the Sandbelt had hosted the men’s national Open and now the Australian championship returns to the country’s most celebrated area of golf courses.
The men’s Australian Open is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia. The women’s Australian Open is be sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the 2024 event will include the fifth edition of the AAAC.
