Latest news with #GolfAustralia
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Aussie golf star predicts possible return to the ‘glory years' for the Australian Open as organisers hope to lure more stars to Melbourne
The Australian Open is on track to shatter modern day attendance records on the back of Rory McIlroy mania as organisers refuse to give up on luring more international top-100 ranked players for the history-making event. On the eve of The Open in his native Northern Ireland, where he was even given an ovation as he walked off the range on a practice day, McIlroy's presence has emboldened Adam Scott to predict the Australian Open could return to its 'glory years'. Golf Australia has already reported ticket sales have surged past traditional markers at this time of the year after the McIlroy coup, with the event to be played at Royal Melbourne later this year. McIlroy will return to Victoria for next year's tournament at Kingston Heath. Scott skipped last year's event after a gruelling season and was a critic of the format, in which men and women played separate tournaments on the same course in the same week. Asked if he was pleased for the Australian Open to return to its traditional position with men and women having stand-alone tournaments, easing the logistical chaos, Scott said: 'I am. I think they've made significant changes and I think it's in the right direction. 'I think the fact that Rory's been lured down shows that they're making good decisions and I hope this is the start of glory years of the Australian Open again. 'And that's not to take away anything from the last whatever years, but it is hard to think that the Aussie Open hasn't been played at Royal Melbourne since '91. 'So, I'm happy that I'm going to sneak one in my career.' McIlroy is expected to be joined in the Australian Open by the best homegrown stars such as Scott, Cameron Smith and Min Woo Lee. But Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland and PGA of Australia's Nick Dastey have been speaking to further overseas players at Royal Portrush about the Stonehaven Cup and Australian PGA Championship, to be held at Royal Queensland. McIlroy's management confirmed to News Corp at Royal Portrush the grand slam winner would bring the green jacket to Australia, his most coveted prize after being just the sixth man to claim all four majors. 'We obviously would like to have as many international players of high ranking come in,' Sutherland said. 'We'll continue to explore our opportunities, but I think we all know and understand the realities of the timing at the end of the year, that it's sometimes difficult to get people to play more golf at that time of the year. 'But we're also optimistic that there are players for various reasons that will want to come out. They'll see that the event and our summer of golf is getting bigger and better all of the time.' Smith has been the most vocal critic of the course set-up under the dual gender format, but a long-awaited return to Royal Melbourne on the sandbelt is expected to bring firm and fast conditions. 'That's the way we'll intend it to play, and we'll be doing everything we can to make sure that's the case,' Dastey said. 'Sometimes the weather gods don't allow it, but it's certainly the intention that it'll be a traditional Royal Melbourne.'
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New career-high for major champ
Officials hope newly minted major champion Grace Kim will again headline the WPGA on the Gold Coast and play for the Karrie Webb Cup, with the Australian legend declaring Kim's breakthrough could provide the mental 'freedom' to win more. Kim, who has jumped a mammoth 74 places on the world rankings to a career-high 25 after taking out the Evian Championship in France in stunning fashion, was set to tee it up in March before the tournament was cancelled due to fears over Cyclone Alfred. It looms as one of the few events for Kim to play in at home in 2025 after the women's Australian Open was shifted to February 2026 when Golf Australia ditched the dual-gender format in favour of stand-alone national Opens. Webb, who won seven majors, has a close bond with Kim, who won the Karrie Webb Scholarship four times, and the fourth time the pair spent six days together on a US road trip playing courses including Pine Valley and Winged Foot and sharing a hotel room. After seeing the 24-year-old's miraculous eagle, birdie, eagle finish to win on a second playoff hole against world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul, Webb was confident the win, as well as the $1.8m winner's cheque and five years of playing security, would combine to unleash an all-new, extra confident Kim. 'I think this will take the lid off now,' said Webb, who watched Kim close out the tournament from her Florida home. 'I think Grace knows she's got a place to play for five years. Financially, this will give her some breathing room just to go and play, so I'm excited to see what she can do now with a bit of freedom. 'She has put in so much hard work. I played with her before she won her scholarship and her game's night and day from that 15, 16, 17-year-old to now. She didn't hit it very far back then. She really relied on her short game a lot. 'Now, she hits it long enough and she's a terrific ball striker. She's a very smart player.' For her part, Kim also conceded the mental side of her game was the area that would lift her to new heights. 'I think I've come to learn that it's not quite my game technically. It's more on course, just the skills that I have to learn through experience being on the Tour week in, week out,' she said after collecting her trophy. Kim also recognised the 'money can't buy' experience of that road trip with Webb in helping shape her career. 'I don't know golf courses very well, but we played Pine Needles ... sorry, Pine Valley, and I didn't quite know the big deal about it,' she said. 'So played Pine Valley, played Winged Foot. It was just an incredible week with her. It was a whole week. We shared a hotel room, so, yeah, memory that money can't buy.' The 2026 Australian WPGA Championship and Festival of Golf will return to the Gold Coast from March 19-22 in 2026, with The Palms course at the renowned Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club to host the action.
The Australian
15-07-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
Golf: Karrie Webb says Grace Kim's major win the first of many victories
Officials hope newly minted major champion Grace Kim will again headline the WPGA on the Gold Coast and play for the Karrie Webb Cup, with the Australian legend declaring Kim's breakthrough could provide the mental 'freedom' to win more. Kim, who has jumped a mammoth 74 places on the world rankings to a career-high 25 after taking out the Evian Championship in France in stunning fashion, was set to tee it up in March before the tournament was cancelled due to fears over Cyclone Alfred. It looms as one of the few events for Kim to play in at home in 2025 after the women's Australian Open was shifted to February 2026 when Golf Australia ditched the dual-gender format in favour of stand-alone national Opens. Webb, who won seven majors, has a close bond with Kim, who won the Karrie Webb Scholarship four times, and the fourth time the pair spent six days together on a US road trip playing courses including Pine Valley and Winged Foot and sharing a hotel room. Grace Kim picked up a mammoth $1.8m for winning the Evian Championship. Picture:After seeing the 24-year-old's miraculous eagle, birdie, eagle finish to win on a second playoff hole against world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul, Webb was confident the win, as well as the $1.8m winner's cheque and five years of playing security, would combine to unleash an all-new, extra confident Kim. 'I think this will take the lid off now,' said Webb, who watched Kim close out the tournament from her Florida home. 'I think Grace knows she's got a place to play for five years. Financially, this will give her some breathing room just to go and play, so I'm excited to see what she can do now with a bit of freedom. 'She has put in so much hard work. I played with her before she won her scholarship and her game's night and day from that 15, 16, 17-year-old to now. She didn't hit it very far back then. She really relied on her short game a lot. 'Now, she hits it long enough and she's a terrific ball striker. She's a very smart player.' Kim is showered by fellow Aussie Minjee Lee after winning the Evian Championship Picture: AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani For her part, Kim also conceded the mental side of her game was the area that would lift her to new heights. 'I think I've come to learn that it's not quite my game technically. It's more on course, just the skills that I have to learn through experience being on the Tour week in, week out,' she said after collecting her trophy. Kim also recognised the 'money can't buy' experience of that road trip with Webb in helping shape her career. 'I don't know golf courses very well, but we played Pine Needles ... sorry, Pine Valley, and I didn't quite know the big deal about it,' she said. 'So played Pine Valley, played Winged Foot. It was just an incredible week with her. It was a whole week. We shared a hotel room, so, yeah, memory that money can't buy.' The 2026 Australian WPGA Championship and Festival of Golf will return to the Gold Coast from March 19-22 in 2026, with The Palms course at the renowned Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club to host the action.
News.com.au
15-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Grace Kim jumps to 25 in the world after Evian Championship, Karrie Webb says more wins coming
Officials hope newly minted major champion Grace Kim will again headline the WPGA on the Gold Coast and play for the Karrie Webb Cup, with the Australian legend declaring Kim's breakthrough could provide the mental 'freedom' to win more. Kim, who has jumped a mammoth 74 places on the world rankings to a career-high 25 after taking out the Evian Championship in France in stunning fashion, was set to tee it up in March before the tournament was cancelled due to fears over Cyclone Alfred. It looms as one of the few events for Kim to play in at home in 2025 after the women's Australian Open was shifted to February 2026 when Golf Australia ditched the dual-gender format in favour of stand-alone national Opens. Webb, who won seven majors, has a close bond with Kim, who won the Karrie Webb Scholarship four times, and the fourth time the pair spent six days together on a US road trip playing courses including Pine Valley and Winged Foot and sharing a hotel room. After seeing the 24-year-old's miraculous eagle, birdie, eagle finish to win on a second playoff hole against world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul, Webb was confident the win, as well as the $1.8m winner's cheque and five years of playing security, would combine to unleash an all-new, extra confident Kim. 'I think this will take the lid off now,' said Webb, who watched Kim close out the tournament from her Florida home. 'I think Grace knows she's got a place to play for five years. Financially, this will give her some breathing room just to go and play, so I'm excited to see what she can do now with a bit of freedom. 'She has put in so much hard work. I played with her before she won her scholarship and her game's night and day from that 15, 16, 17-year-old to now. She didn't hit it very far back then. She really relied on her short game a lot. 'Now, she hits it long enough and she's a terrific ball striker. She's a very smart player.' For her part, Kim also conceded the mental side of her game was the area that would lift her to new heights. 'I think I've come to learn that it's not quite my game technically. It's more on course, just the skills that I have to learn through experience being on the Tour week in, week out,' she said after collecting her trophy. Kim also recognised the 'money can't buy' experience of that road trip with Webb in helping shape her career. 'I don't know golf courses very well, but we played Pine Needles ... sorry, Pine Valley, and I didn't quite know the big deal about it,' she said. 'So played Pine Valley, played Winged Foot. It was just an incredible week with her. It was a whole week. We shared a hotel room, so, yeah, memory that money can't buy.' The 2026 Australian WPGA Championship and Festival of Golf will return to the Gold Coast from March 19-22 in 2026, with The Palms course at the renowned Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club to host the action.
The Advertiser
27-06-2025
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Minjee Lee head-hunted for Australian Open appearance
Golf powerbrokers are hopeful humble superstar Minjee Lee will headline the field when the Australian Open returns to South Australian fairways in 2026. After ditching the contentious dual-gender format for next year's national championships, Golf Australia on Friday announced that Kooyonga Golf Club would host the Australian Open women's event in Adelaide from March 12-15. Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and Ladies European Tour, the Open is returning to the Festival State for the first time since 2020. No Australian has won the title since the great Karrie Webb claimed the trophy for a fifth time in 2014. WPGA Tour boss Karen Lunn says Lee, the newly crowned Women's PGA Championship winner, and Australia's other LPGA Tour stars such as Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou are on the organisers' hit list to lure to Adelaide. "We hope that we'll have all of our Australian stars at this event," Lunn said. "They're dying to get their hands on the Patricia Bridges Bowl, which our great Karrie Webb has won five times." Despite boasting four top-five finishes from 11 starts, the closest Lee has come to claiming her national championship was in 2023, when the now-triple major winner finished runner-up at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. In tipping his hat to the 29-year-old for her latest triumph on Sunday in Texas, Golf Australia chief James Sutherland said Lee was obviously on the Adelaide tournament organisers' radar. "It's not every week that an Australian golfer wins a major championship," Sutherland said. "She may be the most under-rated champion athlete that we have in Australia. "She's certainly understated in her own way - a proud Australian, but someone that is a champion on the biggest stage. "She's one of only four Australians now - male or female - that have won more than two major events, and she's on the verge of her own career grand slam. "So congratulations Minjee, and we're certainly very hopeful, like the (SA) premier, that Minjee will be here in March next year." Lee's PGA Championship victory propelled her above Perth stablemate Green back to Australian No.1 and sixth in the world rankings. The 11th-ranked Green and Kim were the top finishers at last year's Australian Open at the co-hosting Kingston Heath and Victoria clubs in Melbourne, sharing fourth spot behind South Korean winner Jiyai Shin. The shift from early December back to its traditional March time-slot means there will be no women's Australian Open contested in 2025. But it is hoped the move away from a clash with Thanksgiving Day in the US will help lure the world's best players back to Australia and restore the Open's status as one of international golf's biggest tournaments. Golf powerbrokers are hopeful humble superstar Minjee Lee will headline the field when the Australian Open returns to South Australian fairways in 2026. After ditching the contentious dual-gender format for next year's national championships, Golf Australia on Friday announced that Kooyonga Golf Club would host the Australian Open women's event in Adelaide from March 12-15. Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and Ladies European Tour, the Open is returning to the Festival State for the first time since 2020. No Australian has won the title since the great Karrie Webb claimed the trophy for a fifth time in 2014. WPGA Tour boss Karen Lunn says Lee, the newly crowned Women's PGA Championship winner, and Australia's other LPGA Tour stars such as Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou are on the organisers' hit list to lure to Adelaide. "We hope that we'll have all of our Australian stars at this event," Lunn said. "They're dying to get their hands on the Patricia Bridges Bowl, which our great Karrie Webb has won five times." Despite boasting four top-five finishes from 11 starts, the closest Lee has come to claiming her national championship was in 2023, when the now-triple major winner finished runner-up at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. In tipping his hat to the 29-year-old for her latest triumph on Sunday in Texas, Golf Australia chief James Sutherland said Lee was obviously on the Adelaide tournament organisers' radar. "It's not every week that an Australian golfer wins a major championship," Sutherland said. "She may be the most under-rated champion athlete that we have in Australia. "She's certainly understated in her own way - a proud Australian, but someone that is a champion on the biggest stage. "She's one of only four Australians now - male or female - that have won more than two major events, and she's on the verge of her own career grand slam. "So congratulations Minjee, and we're certainly very hopeful, like the (SA) premier, that Minjee will be here in March next year." Lee's PGA Championship victory propelled her above Perth stablemate Green back to Australian No.1 and sixth in the world rankings. The 11th-ranked Green and Kim were the top finishers at last year's Australian Open at the co-hosting Kingston Heath and Victoria clubs in Melbourne, sharing fourth spot behind South Korean winner Jiyai Shin. The shift from early December back to its traditional March time-slot means there will be no women's Australian Open contested in 2025. But it is hoped the move away from a clash with Thanksgiving Day in the US will help lure the world's best players back to Australia and restore the Open's status as one of international golf's biggest tournaments. Golf powerbrokers are hopeful humble superstar Minjee Lee will headline the field when the Australian Open returns to South Australian fairways in 2026. After ditching the contentious dual-gender format for next year's national championships, Golf Australia on Friday announced that Kooyonga Golf Club would host the Australian Open women's event in Adelaide from March 12-15. Co-sanctioned by the WPGA Tour of Australasia and Ladies European Tour, the Open is returning to the Festival State for the first time since 2020. No Australian has won the title since the great Karrie Webb claimed the trophy for a fifth time in 2014. WPGA Tour boss Karen Lunn says Lee, the newly crowned Women's PGA Championship winner, and Australia's other LPGA Tour stars such as Hannah Green, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou are on the organisers' hit list to lure to Adelaide. "We hope that we'll have all of our Australian stars at this event," Lunn said. "They're dying to get their hands on the Patricia Bridges Bowl, which our great Karrie Webb has won five times." Despite boasting four top-five finishes from 11 starts, the closest Lee has come to claiming her national championship was in 2023, when the now-triple major winner finished runner-up at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. In tipping his hat to the 29-year-old for her latest triumph on Sunday in Texas, Golf Australia chief James Sutherland said Lee was obviously on the Adelaide tournament organisers' radar. "It's not every week that an Australian golfer wins a major championship," Sutherland said. "She may be the most under-rated champion athlete that we have in Australia. "She's certainly understated in her own way - a proud Australian, but someone that is a champion on the biggest stage. "She's one of only four Australians now - male or female - that have won more than two major events, and she's on the verge of her own career grand slam. "So congratulations Minjee, and we're certainly very hopeful, like the (SA) premier, that Minjee will be here in March next year." Lee's PGA Championship victory propelled her above Perth stablemate Green back to Australian No.1 and sixth in the world rankings. The 11th-ranked Green and Kim were the top finishers at last year's Australian Open at the co-hosting Kingston Heath and Victoria clubs in Melbourne, sharing fourth spot behind South Korean winner Jiyai Shin. The shift from early December back to its traditional March time-slot means there will be no women's Australian Open contested in 2025. But it is hoped the move away from a clash with Thanksgiving Day in the US will help lure the world's best players back to Australia and restore the Open's status as one of international golf's biggest tournaments.
