The revival of the local circuit after two COVID-ravaged summers will have tournament-starved fans salivating.
[ getty images: David Cannon, Jared C. Tilton]
You won’t have to wait for nightfall to see the stars this summer. After two years of either non-existence or compromised logistics, our national Open and PGA championships are back – and so are the top players.
The announcements have flowed steadily in recent weeks and months. First came Lucas Herbert, who committed simultaneously to both the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland (November 24-27) and ISPS Handa Australian Open at the twin venues of Victoria and Kingston Heath (December 1-4).
“I am definitely looking forward to the trip home,” Herbert said in a sentiment echoed by many foreign-based Aussie touring pros. “I have been fortunate to spend most of the season in the United States and I certainly miss being home in Australia with my family and friends. I also really enjoy playing golf in Australia and am greatly looking forward to that as well.”
Next up was Min Woo Lee, who declared he would be in the field for the Australian PGA, which returns as a co-sanctioned entity with the DP World Tour. In an odd piece of calendar metrics, the PGA will be played twice in 2022, as the edition won by Jed Morgan in such emphatic style was held in January but is regarded in the record books as the 2021 championship. The upcoming PGA will be the 2022 version.
“I can’t wait to tee it up in the PGA,” Lee said. “It was so good to have big tournament golf back in Australia earlier this year with the crowds and the atmosphere out at Royal Queensland in January, and I tend to feed off that. It’s an event I’d love to win, being one of the marquee tournaments on the Australasian Tour and one that I’ve followed for a long, long time.
“It’s also exciting to see the event backed by the DP World Tour again. I’m sure that will be attractive to other players because it offers up opportunities there. I’m a fan of the Royal Queensland layout, I think it fits my eye, and I hope and expect to play well there this year.”
Hannah Green became the first top female to get on board, her excitement at committing to the Australian Open stemming from the joint-fields model.
“When I heard that the men’s and women’s Opens were coming together for the first time, I knew that I wanted to be there,” said the 2019 Women’s PGA champion. “We’ve experienced this kind of concept, with men and women playing together on the same courses at the same time, at the Vic Open and the Webex Players Series events, and to have it in place for the first time at a national Open is going to be something special.”
Marc Leishman was next to sign up, adding both the Australian PGA and Australian Open to his schedule. “My family and I cannot wait to come home to Australia and I’m eager to win in front of a home crowd,” he said. “We’ve not been back to Australia to compete for a while now and I’m buzzing to play in front of the Aussie crowd once again. I’ve always received good support in Queensland and I’m looking forward to the energy of the crowd at the Australian PGA Championship.
“The last time I played in Australia was at the 2019 Presidents Cup and the Melbourne crowd was sensational. It’ll be brilliant to experience a similar atmosphere at Victoria and I’m looking forward to seeing a few familiar faces come up from my hometown of Warrnambool.”
Cameron Smith soon followed, announcing his return to compete in both the premier Australian tournaments on the calendar. “I’ve had an unbelievable year and to be coming home to play tournaments is the icing on the cake,” Smith said. “I’m so excited to see friends and family again. Some of them I haven’t seen for years now and once I get to the golf course, I’ve got my eye on some more trophies.
“Winning the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship in 2017 and 2018 was awesome, so to be playing in Queensland again, wearing my maroon shirt on Sunday around Royal Queensland, will be very special.”
Meanwhile, the Australian Open will also be Smith’s first time playing in Melbourne since the 2019 Presidents Cup, which he called “one of the best experiences I’ve had in golf”.
“The crowds were incredible that week and I’m looking forward to a similar atmosphere at Victoria and Kingston Heath,” he said.
In a clever coup, Ashleigh Buhai was simultaneously revealed as a confirmed starter for the women’s field, giving the first-ever concurrent Australian Opens both the reigning Open champions.
“I love coming to Australia and playing on some of the best golf courses in the world,” Buhai said. “I played at Victoria Golf Club in the Women’s Australian Open in 2014 and, even though I missed the cut, I know it’s a fantastic venue and Melbourne is a great place. If I can add another trophy to my collection that would be a great way to end an already very special year.”
Three in one
Victoria and Kingston Heath golf clubs will rightfully take some of the spotlight during the Australian Open, with the former seeing the men’s national championship for the first time in two decades and the latter taking a co-hosting role after missing out as scheduled in 2020 due to the Open’s cancellation that year. Ranked ninth and second, respectively, in the country by Australian Golf Digest, showcasing the dual locations on the Melbourne Sandbelt will make for an unforgettable and historic week. Yet the side-by-side men’s and women’s championships will give the tournament heightened substance. Of course, it’s actually a three-in-one week with the Australian All Abilities Championship (AAAC) also taking place, providing a trio of trophies for the field.
The eyes of the golf world will be on Melbourne to watch the treble Opens. The logistics behind intertwining multiple fields will give tournament organisers more headaches than usual in the lead-up and during the week of the championship, but there’s ample know-how banked in this department already. The dual Vic Opens have been a local staple for a decade now, while the twin Australian PGA and WPGA championships this past January provided more insights into how to juggle two fields. The challenge on this occasion will be managing the logistics across two separate venues, not just two adjoining courses. However, done properly, the multi-field events stand to be a model not just for the future of our national championship but for more tournaments worldwide.
Meanwhile, the AAAC is growing in stature with each staging. Played over 54 holes concurrently with the Australian Open, it is open to the top 12 players on the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability. The early editions have been highly popular, showcasing the exceptional talents of a vast number of golfers with disability while proving the championship’s value to Open week.
Christian Hamilton, national inclusion manager for Golf Australia, says the impact of the AAAC has increased participation domestically but also had a huge impact on the growth of premier events for people with disability around the globe.
“We have seen huge growth with more than 2,000 players now on the world ranking or who now hold a pass,” Hamilton says. “With the development of the G4D Tour, there are now eight championships for golfers with disability played on the DP World Tour and it was great to see the USGA run their first national championship earlier in the year.
“The AAAC has moved past showcasing talent and creating awareness to one that demonstrates a truly global high-performance pathway in the sport for people with disability.”
Demonstrating global connectivity with championships, grass-roots participation and developing organisational capability through programs such as the PGA All Abilities Coach Accreditation has gone a long way in supporting future growth and golf’s potential to become a Paralympic sport in 2028. That program, now in its seventh year, has trained more than 215 PGA professionals and 100 community instructors across the country, providing people with disability a clear pathway either back into the game, or to pick it up for the first time.
No two-card trick
Lest anyone think this ‘Summer of Golf’ is merely a focal fortnight dressed up as something longer, we remind you that the six-month period from October to early April is stacked with no fewer than 16 official tournaments.
Beginning with the West Australian PGA in remote Kalgoorlie on October 13, local male professionals will embark on an odyssey that touches a minimum of four states and two countries.
Outside the Australian Open and PGA are various state opens and PGAs plus a healthy run of The Players Series events from late January. The New Zealand Open and PGA then make their returns ahead of a dedicated and still-to-be-finalised closing event. It’s reminiscent of the days when the PGA Tour of Australasia schedule was fulsome enough that it justified staging a Tour Championship to punctuate each season.
On the women’s side, the exact timing of several WPGA Tour of Australasia tournaments is still to be confirmed, but that schedule looks set to mirror previous summers. Highlighted by the WPGA Championship and Women’s Australian Open, the calendar also includes events like the WPGA Melbourne International at Latrobe Golf Club, the Australian Women’s Classic at Bonville Golf Resort and the innovative Athena event. Sprinkle in four TPS tournaments and you have a steady diet of intermingling between our leading male and female professionals.
| Date | Tournament | Location | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-16 October 2022 | CKB WA PGA, presented by TX Civil & Logistics | Kalgoorlie Golf Club | $200,000 |
| 17-23 October 2022 | WA Open | West Australian Golf Club | $162,500 |
| 7-13 November 2022 | VIC PGA | Moonah Links Resort | $200,000 |
| 14-20 November 2022 | Queensland PGA | Nudgee Golf Club | $200,000 |
| 21-28 November 2022 | Fortinet Australian PGA Championship | Royal Queensland Golf Club | $2,000,000 |
| 29 November-4 December 2022 | ISPS HANDA Australian Open | Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club | $1,700,000 |
| 5-11 December 2022 | Gippsland Super 6 | Warragul Country Club | $175,000 |
| 23-29 January 2023 | TPS Victoria hosted by Geoff Ogilvy | Rosebud Country Club | $200,000 |
| 30 Jan-5 February 2023 | TPS Murray River in honour of Jarrod Lyle | Cobram-Barooga Golf Club | $200,000 |
| TBA February 2023 | VIC Open | TBA | TBA |
| 13-19 February 2023 | TPS Sydney presented by Webex hosted by Braith Anasta | Bonnie Doon Golf Club | $200,000 |
| 20-26 February 2023 | TPS Hunter Valley hosted by Jan Stephenson and Peter O’Malley | Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort | $200,000 |
| 27 February-5 March 2023 | NZ Open Presented by Sky Sport | Millbrook Resort | $1,400,000 |
| 6-12 March 2023 | NZ PGA Championship | Auckland | $150,000 |
| 13-19 March 2023 | Play Today NSW Open | TBA | $400,000 |
| Late March 2023 | Season Finale | TBA | TBA |
