Latest news with #GolfAustralia
News.com.au
2 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Kim best of Aussies in women's US Open
Golf: Grace Kim (-1) was the best performing Australian in Round 1 of the women's US Open as she finished the day three off the lead.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Green: Patience key to US Open success
Golf: Hannah Green speaks before this weekend's US Open, as she is one of seven Australians playing at the tournament.
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
It's all bonza: Rory McIlroy has tills ringing down under as he commits to Australian Open
His focus might purely be on Quail Hollow this week, but when it was announced on Tuesday that Rory McIlroy would be competing at the 2025 and 2026 Australian Opens, the golfing fraternity down under only had thoughts for December when he will make his first appearance in the tournament in over a decade. Having won the title at Royal Sydney in 2013, McIlroy's last Australian Open came the following year. But he hasn't been back since, so there's quite a bit of excitement about him committing to turning up at Royal Melbourne in December and nearby Kingston Heath the year after. How much excitement? Well, Australian Golf Digest said, in the first 24 hours after the announcement was made, 'Golf Australia observed the biggest single day of ticket sales in the event's 121-year history. In addition to overall ticket sales, hospitality suites at Royal Melbourne have almost sold out.' McIlroy will, of course, receive a hefty fee for his appearances, although Golf Digest reckons the reported €2 million a tournament is stretching it. Mind you, considering those ticket sales, and the assorted extra loot that will gush in, €2 million sounds cheap at the price. READ MORE Missed chance to trouser a bonus The first anniversary of Scottie Scheffler's arrest at Valhalla, on the morning of his second round in the PGA Championship , is upon us. And you can only salute The Athletic for their efforts to track down the whereabouts of 'Detective Gillis' ruined pants'. You might, or might not, recall that the policeman who arrested Scheffler, after an apparent misunderstanding between the pair, had his uniform pants 'damaged beyond repair' when he was dragged along the road by Scheffler's car. So, The Athletic contacted Detective Bryan Gillis to ask him where those pants were. There are, he said, in a box somewhere in his house, but he's not sure where. Besides, he wants to forget the whole incident, having received 'harassing phone calls' for months and sometimes being pointed at in a shop by someone hollering 'You're the officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler .' On being told that he really should have sold them at the time, the detective's heart most probably sank. How much, according to a company that auctions golf collectibles and memorabilia, would they have been worth? As much as $20,000 (€18,000). A year on? Just the $5,000. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 15: Alex Smalley of the United States prepares for a putt on the ninth holeduring the first round of the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 15, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by) Ai has some neck Is Alex Smalley 2025's version of 1991's John Daly? Daly, you'll recall won the PGA Championship back then when he was the final alternate for the tournament, and Smalley, the 28-year-old New Yorker, was only called up on Wednesday afternoon after Sahith Theegala was forced to withdraw. Then he went and shot a four-under 67 to give himself a lofty position on the leader board after round one. Why did Theegala withdraw? It could be that artificial intelligence (AI) had magic mushrooms for breakfast on Thursday, because this is what was popping up on the interweb: 'In a shocking turn of events, Theegala has withdrawn just moments before the start, leaving fans and experts in disbelief. The unexpected announcement has sent shock waves through the golfing world, creating a whirlwind of speculation and intrigue as to what led to this last-minute decision.' The, er, shock waves soon subsided – the Californian dropped out because of the neck injury that led him to withdraw from the Truist Championship last weekend. Whirlwind of speculation? Over. Done up, and down, to the nines Granted, there were no shortage of uppy-downy rounds on Thursday, but Séamus Power 's first nine surely took the biscuit: birdie, double-bogey, bogey, par, eagle, birdie, double-bogey, par, par. In contrast, his second nine was close enough to run-of-the-mill: six pars, a birdie, a bogey and a par. After a tough old time of it of late, you'd imagine the Waterford man would be happy enough to finish on +1, and will hope that his second round proves somewhat less rollercoaster-ish. Slow play by the experts Don't let the rules officials see this guy ⏰ — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) Rudest, but most inevitable, X response to a clip showing a turtle-type creature on the Quail Hollow course on Thursday? 'Faster than Patrick Cantlay.' Quote of the Day 'Three doubles – that's the way Rich Beem likes to spend his evenings, but not these players. They've made an absolute pig's ear of it.' – Sky Sport's Nick Dougherty after the world's top three, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, were nearly driven to drink when they all had double bogeys on the 16th. Number of the Day: 67 Luke Donald 's first round bogey-free score at Quail Hollow, his lowest round in a Major in 21 years. He could award himself a Ryder Cup captain's pick yet.
The Age
15-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Inside golf's big coup: Why Rory McIlroy is coming to play the Australian Open
'We're absolutely delighted that the Victorian government's come to the party to support it.' Golf Australia had heard the Northern Irishman mention the courses in the odd interview and now had a person on their team, event organiser Antonia Beggs, who had worked on the European Tour for more than a decade. Beggs was connected to McIlroy through relationships established during that time. She set up conversations between golfing officials – who had already decided to revert to a men's only tournament in 2025 after flirting with a dual-gender format for three years – and McIlroy's people, including his manager Sean O'Flaherty. With McIlroy not using his Masters win to change the course of the negotiations and the sandbelt courses remaining the major appeal, the main cog to lock into place was the Victorian government, and more particularly, its use of the major events budget. Contrary to Sutherland's initial fear, McIlroy's Masters win was actually a boon. 'Fortunately, nothing changed when he won the Masters. It just became an even more compelling proposition,' Sutherland said. The win got the political wheels grinding more quickly as Premier Jacinta Allan knew there was no time to dither if the state wanted to secure the event and arguably the most popular golfer in the world at the top of his game. Nor did a potential bid from NSW to steal the event materialise. A Destination NSW spokesperson said there was no official bid lodged for Sydney to host. Victorian Sports Minister Steven Dimopoulos was happy to spruik the $1.3 billion golf tourism brings to the Victorian economy, but claimed commercial-in-confidence to keep the cost to taxpayers a secret. A spokesperson for the premier's office refused to comment on any of the machinations when contacted. Loading While no one would divulge what the offer was, one golf source said it was less than the $3 million Tiger Woods had received to appear in the Australian Masters in 2009. Whatever the cost, the sense from Golf Australia was that McIlroy's price was more than reasonable. His attraction to playing at the sandbelt was a deciding factor in luring him here and therefore ensuring Victoria would host the tournament for the next two years. 'He has for a long time expressed a desire to come here and play tournament golf on the sandbelt,' Sutherland said. McIlroy backed up Sutherland's comments. 'I'm proud to be committing to the Australian Open for the next two years, especially with it being played on the world-class Melbourne sandbelt, somewhere I've always wanted to play professionally,' he said. 'Melbourne is known for being one of the world's great sporting cities and I can't wait to be part of that atmosphere and soak in everything it has to offer, both on and off the course.' Sutherland is confident Australian stars such as Adam Scott, Cam Davis, Jason Day and Min Woo Lee, who play on the PGA Tour in the US, will be motivated by McIlroy's presence. LIV stars Cam Smith, Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman and the emerging Elvis Smylie are likely to play too. Golf Australia expects 100,000 people to attend – ticket sales in the first two hours blew away targets, already exceeding 50 per cent of the total ticket sales for last year's tournament. The governing body is also in the throes of securing a naming rights sponsor. Golf Australia have their man and McIlroy gets to have a hit on the courses he has long looked at with envy. Though it will be his first competition on the sandbelt course, McIlroy has competed in the Australian Open before. He won the Stonehaven Cup in 2013 in a thrilling duel with Adam Scott at Royal Sydney and returned to try and defend it in 2014.
eNCA
14-05-2025
- Sport
- eNCA
Masters champion McIlroy to headline Australian Open
MELBOURNE - Masters champion Rory McIlroy will play in the Australian Open for the next two years, the world number two said Wednesday, ending a long absence from the tournament. The Northern Irishman became just the sixth golfer to complete a career grand slam of all four majors with his dramatic play-off win at Augusta last month. On the eve of the second major of the year, the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, McIlroy announced he will tee up in the Australian Open from December 4-7 this year at the world-renowned Royal Melbourne course. The 36-year-old will return to Australia in 2026 when the prestigious event moves to the nearby Kingston Heath course. "I'm proud to be committing to the Australian Open for the next two years, especially with it being played on the world-class Melbourne Sandbelt, somewhere I've always wanted to play professionally," McIlroy said. The success of the 121-year-old tournament is "important for the global game", he said. "Melbourne is known for being one of the world's great sporting cities and I can't wait to be part of that atmosphere and soak in everything it has to offer, both on and off the course." His appearance will end an 11-year absence from the tournament he won in 2013. Australian tournament officials are also hopeful of luring home PGA Tour winner Min Woo Lee, as well as major champions Cameron Smith and Adam Scott. "Rory McIlroy, one of the best to ever play our game, playing on the world-renowned Melbourne Sandbelt, is a mouth-watering proposition for golf fans," Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement. At the Masters last month, McIlroy ended a majors win drought stretching back to 2014. Augusta National had been the only major missing from McIlroy's collection, having claimed the US Open in 2011, the Open Championship in 2014 and the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014.
