[Photo: Getty images]
Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland says Australian Open organisers want an “international flavour” at this year’s two championships, which will return to separate men’s and women’s tournaments after three editions of an unpopular mixed format.
Fans will now wait to see where the tournaments will take place after spending two of the past three editions on the famed Melbourne Sandbelt.
Organisers debuted the dual Opens in 2022 in Melbourne when Poland’s Adrian Meronk won the men’s Open and Ash Buhai won the first of her two consecutive Women’s Australian Opens.
But it was announced in February officials were scrapping the mixed format after a summer of scorching criticism from top players. The 2022 British Open winner, Cameron Smith, blasted the course set-up at the Open at Kingston Heath while women’s stars such as Hannah Green criticised the timing of the event given LPGA Tour players had to dash from their season finale in Florida to Melbourne and weren’t able to play a practice round.
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Speaking at Augusta National to Australian reporters on Friday (Saturday AEST), Sutherland said splitting up the mixed tournaments was better for the overall good of the two Opens. “It allows us more flexibility and aligns better for both men and women,” Sutherland said of the schedules.
Both Opens have not yet locked in a host city for 2025. The Victorian government reportedly had a one-year deal in place for 2024. Smith, three times an Australian PGA champion but never a winner of the Stonehaven Cup, desperately wants an Open in his trophy cabinet. And he wants to win in on the Melbourne Sandbelt.
Sutherland said at Augusta that Golf Australia were in discussions for a host city and course. “We’re working through the landing spot for venues,” he said.
The Australian Open, as well as the Australian PGA, is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour. In terms of big names in the field, co-sanctioning typically brings a healthy amount of European tour regulars while LIV Golf’s four-month off-season also allows the four players on Ripper GC – Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones – flexibility to travel home and play in the summer of golf.
But with a late November/early December slot, the men’s Australian Open is usually in a tricky part of the PGA Tour schedule given most players are taking a break or teeing up in Tiger Woods’s charity tournament in the Bahamas.
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Sutherland remains confident the men’s Open will attract names from around the world although LIV players outside of Smith and his Ripper teammates would be difficult.
“The LIV golfers don’t play as much (as the PGA Tour at that time of year) … we’ll definitely talk to them and I’ve spoken to Cam and his teammates, they’re a tight group,” he said. “Getting them interested is one thing but there’s significant fees in bringing [other LIV golfers] down. It’s trying to work out how that comes together. But we want it to have an international flavour.”
Smith said at LIV Golf Adelaide in February that he wants the event back in Melbourne.
“I mean, because they [Melbourne] have some great golf courses that I think people want to play,” Smith said when asked why he wants the Open back on the Sandbelt. “Not only do we want to come down and play and obviously support our event, I think it lends itself to having a stronger field, having more guys come down here and play the Australian Open, and let it be the event that it once was. You look at the names on that trophy through the ’80s and ’90s, it’s incredible, and it seems like somewhere that got lost. I definitely want it to be the best event it can be and be the fifth major. It would be unbelievable.
“Yeah, we’ve got to start somewhere, and hopefully this is the starting point.”
