The PGA Tour for the first time is getting involved with the Australian Open, the fifth-oldest championship in golf and a championship that years ago was looked upon as having the potential to be a fifth major.
The nature of that involvement has not been announced, though it likely would create spots for PGA Tour players who want to compete.
Golf Australia announced Tuesday a new agreement in which the DP World Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia will co-sanction the tournament, to be played in December at revered Kingston Heath. Rory McIlroy plans to be in the field.
Golf Australia said the PGA Tour involvement in the Capital.com Australian Open was “set to ensure” a significant boost in prize money, a good spot on the global golf calendar and a chance to attract the world’s best players. More details were to be announced at the December tournament.
“Our ambition is clear. We want the men’s Capital.com Australian Open to be recognized among the top 10 most prestigious golf tournaments globally, and everything we are doing for the event flows from that ambition,” said James Sutherland, the CEO of Golf Australia.
The Australian Open was a popular destination in the 1960s and 1970s, with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player each winning six times during that stretch, and additional winners including Arnold Palmer and Peter Thomson. It was looked upon as a global major even when the Presidents Cup was staged at Royal Melbourne in 1998.