Australian Open (golf)

The Australian Open was the flagship tournament of the PGA Tour of Australasia from 1992 to 2019. It had a special status in the Official World Golf Ranking's points system, awarding a minimum 32 points to the winner regardless of the strength of the field.

The tournament was part of the OneAsia Tour from 2009 to 2016. The 2022 edition was co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

Since the Open Qualifying Series was introduced for the 2014 Open Championship, the Australian Open has been the first of a number of qualifying tournaments, giving up to three non-exempt players entry into the Open Championship.[2]

The Australian Open was once referred to as the "fifth major" by Jack Nicklaus.[3]

The Australian Golf Union was formed in 1898 and from 1899 organised a championship meeting. From 1899 to 1902 this included the Australian Amateur championship contested over 72 holes of stroke play. In 1903 the format was revised, there being a 36-hole stroke-play stage after which the leading 8 played match-play with a 36-hole final. The 1904 championship meeting was held at The Australian Golf Club. In 1903, the club had hosted the New South Wales Amateur and had run the 36-hole stroke-play qualifying stage as an open event, with professionals as well as amateurs competing. The idea was used at the 1904 championship meeting. There was a 72-hole stroke-play event open to professionals, played over two days, after which the leading 16 amateurs competed for the amateur championship. The stroke-play event became the first Australian Open and was won by an English amateur, Michael Scott, with a score of 315. Two more amateurs Leslie Penfold Hyland and Dan Soutar finished second and third, while Carnegie Clark was the leading professional, tied for fourth place.[4]

The 1905 championship meeting was played at Royal Melbourne and the open and amateur championship were decided by the same 72-hole tournament. Dan Soutar, now a professional, won the open with Michael Scott second, 10 strokes behind. As the leading amateur, Scott won the amateur championship.[5] The 1906 open was won by Carnegie Clark, 5 ahead of Soutar.[6] Soutar was to be runner-up in five successive opens, from 1906 to 1910. In 1907 Scott repeated his success of 1904, and further amateur wins came in the following two years, Clyde Pearce winning in 1908 and Claude Felstead in 1909.[7][8][9] The 1910 open was held in South Australia for the first time and resulted in a second win for Clark, with a record score of 306, 11 strokes ahead of Soutar.[10] Clark won for the third time the following year, although only by a single shot from Fred Popplewell.[11] The 1912 open was won by an 18-year-old amateur, Ivo Whitton, 5 ahead of Popplewell and Soutar.[12] Whitton won again the following year with a new record score of 302. Another amateur Audley Lemprière came second with Soutar third, a distant 15 strokes behind Whitton.[13]

The open restarted in 1920 and was won by Joe Kirkwood Sr. with a score of 290, 12 strokes better than the previous record score. Dan Soutar was second, 5 shots behind, the seventh time he had been runner-up.[14] Five of the nine opens between 1924 and 1932 were won by amateurs. In 1924 Alex Russell led from the start after an opening round of 68 and, with further rounds of 79, 78 and 78, won by two strokes from Carnegie Clark.[15] Ivo Whitton won in 1926, 13 years after his last win, and won again in 1929 and 1931.[16][17][18] Mick Ryan won in 1932, the third successive amateur winner at Royal Adelaide.[19] Of the professionals, Fred Popplewell won twice, in 1925 and 1928, while Rufus Stewart won in 1927 and was runner-up in the other four opens between 1926 and 1930.[20][21][22] 1928 was the first Open played over 3 days, with 36 holes on the final day. There was a cut after 36 holes with the leading 60 and ties playing on the final day. With the leading 16 amateurs in the Open qualifying for the match play stage of the amateur championship, there was also a proviso that at least 24 amateurs should make the cut.[23] The 1930 open was the first to be held at the Metropolitan Golf Club and the winner, Frank Eyre, was the first to be presented with the Stonehaven Cup.[24]

1931 saw the emergence of 16-year-old Jim Ferrier. Needing 5 at the last hole to tie Ivo Whitton, he took 6 and finished runner-up.[18] He was also a runner-up in 1933 and 1935. He had another good change to win in 1935 but took 7 at the 71st hole and again finished a stroke behind the winner.[25] He didn't win the open until 1938, when he won by a record 14 strokes from Norman Von Nida.[26] He repeated his success in 1939.[27] 1934 saw the first serious American challenger when Gene Sarazen played in the event. He was on a world tour with Joe Kirkwood Jr. However Billy Bolger won the open with a new record score of 283, with Sarazen second and Kirkwood fourth.[28] Sarazen returned in 1936 and won with a score of 282, a new record.[29]

The championship resumed in 1946 at Royal Sydney and was won by Ossie Pickworth, who finished two ahead of the amateur Alan Waterson.[30] The Australian Amateur was also played at Royal Sydney, starting the following week. However, the Open no longer acted as a qualifying event for the amateur championship, which became match-play only.[31] 1947 was the first year that the open and amateur were played at different venues, Royal Queensland hosting the open for the first time. It was also the first time it had been played as early as June. Billy McWilliam scored 65 in the first round and took an 8 stroke lead. He still led by 4 at the start of the final round but took 78, while Pickworth scored 69 to retain his title by 5 shots.[32] From 1947 it was generally the case that the Open and the Amateur were played at separate venues. This naturally tended to reduce the number of amateurs playing in the open, since they no longer had to play it to qualify for the amateur championship. 1948 saw the first appearance of Jim Ferrier since 1939, creating much public interest in the event. Pickworth and Ferrier tied on 289, resulting in the first open playoff.[33] Pickworth won the 18 hole playoff with a score of 71 to Ferrier's 74, to win his third successive title.[34] Pickworth seemed likely to win his fourth title in 1949 as he led by 6 strokes after 3 rounds. However, Eric Cremin had a last round of 68 to Pickworth's 80 to win the title. Pickworth was later disqualified for recording an incorrect score at his final hole, so that Norman Von Nida, playing in his first open since 1939, became the runner-up.[35]

Norman Von Nida was the leading player of the early-1950s, winning the open in 1950, 1952 and 1953 and being a runner-up in the other four opens between 1949 and 1955. Peter Thomson won in 1951 while Ossie Pickworth took his fourth title in 1954.[36][37] 1952 was the first open held in Western Australia, being played at Lake Karrinyup. Von Nida won with a record score of 278.[38] Von Nida equalled that record in 1953 and also equalled the record for the lowest round, with his final 65.[39] Bobby Locke won in 1955, the first overseas winner since 1936. This was played at Gailes, near Brisbane, in late May, the earliest of any open.[40] Kel Nagle seems a likely winner in 1956 but finished badly, for a final round 76, while Bruce Crampton finished with two birdies for a 68 and won by two strokes.[41]

Gary Player made his first appearance in 1957, and would eventually win the title 7 times. He seemed a likely winner on his debut, but in the final round took 7 at the 13th and 6 at the 16th and lost by a stroke from Frank Phillips.[42][43] Player returned in 1958, winning by 5 strokes.[44] Kel Nagle had been close to winning a number of times and won his only open in 1959.[45] The 1960 open was held at Lake Karrinyup for the second time, a week after the amateur championship. Bruce Devlin, still an amateur, won his only open. Amateurs took 8 of the first 9 places.[46] Player returned in 1961 but only finished tied for third, Phillips winning by two strokes from Nagle.[47] Player won in 1962, by two strokes from Nagle. Jack Nicklaus made his debut in 1962, finishing 5th.[48] Player won again in 1963, his third win, by 5 shots from Bruce Devlin.[49] Devlin came close to winning in 1964. Needing a par-5 at the 72nd hole he took 6, and then lost to Jack Nicklaus by 3 strokes in an 18-hole playoff. The playoff was played on a Sunday, the first Sunday play in the open's history.[50] Player won his fourth title in 1965, setting a new record score of 264, despite taking a bogey-5 at the final hole. Player started with a record round of 62 and had another 62 in the third round. Nicklaus and Phillips tied for second place, 6 behind Player.[51]

The 1966 open was the first to be held over four days and the first to finish on a Sunday. Arnold Palmer made his debut in the event and won by 5 strokes from Kel Nagle.[52] Peter Thomson won his second open in 1967, the first Australian winner since 1961. He won by 7 strokes from Col Johnston.[53] Jack Nicklaus won for the second time in 1968, beating Gary Player by a stroke after making a birdie-3 at the final hole.[54] The 1968 open was sponsored by a local TV company, the first open to be sponsored. From 1969 the event was sponsored by Qantas.[55][56] In difficult conditions, Player had a final round 77, but still won his 5th title in 1969, equalling Ivo Whitton's record.[57] In 1970 Player led by 8 strokes after three rounds and, despite a last round 74, won by 3, for his 6th win in the event.[58] In 1971 the open was held in Tasmania for the only time, at Royal Hobart. Nicklaus had a 9-stroke lead after three rounds and won by 8 shots.[59] In 1972 there was an 18-hole playoff after a tie between Peter Thomson and David Graham.[60] Graham drove out-of-bounds at the first hole and Thomson took a three-stroke lead after making a birdie. Thomson eventually won by 6 strokes for his third title.[61] J. C. Snead won in 1973, by two strokes from Jerry Breaux, a little-known American.[62] In 1974 Player won his 7th title. Leading by 5 strokes at the start of the final round, he scored 73 and won by 3.[63]

From 1975 to 1978 the open was held at The Australian Golf Club. Kerry Packer had funded a redesign of the course by Jack Nicklaus. The event was broadcast through Packer's Channel Nine network. He also financed a large increase in the prize money. Nicklaus won three of the four events, in 1973, 1974 and 1976 while David Graham won in 1975.[64] The 1979 and 1980 events were sponsored by Dunhill but with less prize money than in 1978. Jack Newton won in 1979 with Greg Norman winning in 1980.[65][66] The 1981 event was multi-sponsored, without a title sponsor, and was won by Bill Rogers, beating Norman by a stroke.[67][68]

Having not been played in 2020 or 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event returned in 2022. It was announced that the 2022 tournament would feature the men's and women's Opens played on the same course at the same time. They would also share a prize fund of US$3,400,000. In addition to this announcement, it was also confirmed that the European Tour would sanction the men's event for the first time.[69]

#	Year	Tour(s)[lower-alpha 1]	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Winner's share (A$)	Venue	Ref.
ISPS Handa Australian Open
105th	2022	ANZ, EUR	Adrian Meronk	268	−14	5 strokes	Adam Scott	289,000	Victoria Kingston Heath	[70]
Australian Open
–	2021	ANZ	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic							[71]
Emirates Australian Open
–	2020	ANZ	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic							[72]
104th	2019	ANZ	Matt Jones (2)	269	−15	1 stroke	Louis Oosthuizen	225,000	The Australian	[73]
103rd	2018	ANZ	Abraham Ancer	272	−16	5 strokes	Dimitrios Papadatos	225,000	The Lakes	[74]
102nd	2017	ANZ	Cameron Davis	273	−11	1 stroke	Jonas Blixt Matt Jones	225,000	The Australian	[75]
101st	2016	ANZ, ONE	Jordan Spieth (2)	276	−12	Playoff[lower-alpha 2]	Ashley Hall Cameron Smith	225,000	Royal Sydney	[76]
100th	2015	ANZ, ONE	Matt Jones	276	−8	1 stroke	Adam Scott Jordan Spieth	225,000	The Australian	[77]
99th	2014	ANZ, ONE	Jordan Spieth	271	−13	6 strokes	Rod Pampling	225,000	The Australian	[78]
98th	2013	ANZ, ONE	Rory McIlroy	270	−18	1 stroke	Adam Scott	225,000	Royal Sydney
97th	2012	ANZ, ONE	Peter Senior (2)	284	−4	1 stroke	Brendan Jones	225,000	The Lakes
96th	2011	ANZ, ONE	Greg Chalmers (2)	275	−13	1 stroke	John Senden	270,000	The Lakes
Australian Open
95th	2010	ANZ, ONE	Geoff Ogilvy	269	−19	4 strokes	Matt Jones Alistair Presnell	270,000	The Lakes
94th	2009	ANZ, ONE	Adam Scott	273	−15	5 strokes	Stuart Appleby	270,000	New South Wales
93rd	2008	ANZ	Tim Clark	279	−9	Playoff[lower-alpha 3]	Mathew Goggin	270,000	Royal Sydney
MFS Australian Open
92nd	2007	ANZ	Craig Parry	277	−11	1 stroke	Won Joon Lee Nick O'Hern Brandt Snedeker	315,000	The Australian
91st	2006	ANZ	John Senden	280	−8	1 stroke	Geoff Ogilvy	270,000	Royal Sydney
90th	2005	ANZ	Robert Allenby (2)	284	−4	1 stroke	Nick O'Hern John Senden Paul Sheehan	216,000	Moonah Links
Hillross Australian Open
89th	2004	ANZ	Peter Lonard (2)	281	−3	1 stroke	Stuart Appleby	270,000	The Australian
Australian Open
88th	2003	ANZ	Peter Lonard	279	−9	1 stroke	Chris Downes Stephen Leaney	270,000	Moonah Links
Holden Australian Open
87th	2002	ANZ	Stephen Allan	198[lower-alpha 4]	−12	1 stroke	Aaron Baddeley Rich Beem Craig Parry	270,000	Victoria
86th	2001	ANZ	Stuart Appleby	271	−13	3 strokes	Scott Laycock	270,000	The Grand
85th	2000	ANZ	Aaron Baddeley (2)	278	−10	2 strokes	Robert Allenby	250,000	Kingston Heath
84th	1999	ANZ	Aaron Baddeley (a)	274	−14	2 strokes	Greg Norman Nick O'Hern	180,000	Royal Sydney
83rd	1998	ANZ	Greg Chalmers	288	E	1 stroke	Stuart Appleby Peter Senior	115,200	Royal Adelaide
82nd	1997	ANZ	Lee Westwood	274	−14	Playoff[lower-alpha 5]	Greg Norman	180,000	Metropolitan
81st	1996	ANZ	Greg Norman (5)	280	−8	8 strokes	Wayne Grady	153,000	The Australian
Heineken Australian Open
80th	1995	ANZ	Greg Norman (4)	278	−10	2 strokes	Peter McWhinney	114,750	Kingston Heath
79th	1994	ANZ	Robert Allenby	280	−8	1 stroke	Brett Ogle	115,000	Royal Sydney
78th	1993	ANZ	Brad Faxon	275	−13	2 strokes	Mike Clayton Jeff Woodland	153,000	Metropolitan	[79]
Australian Open
77th	1992	ANZ	Steve Elkington	280	−8	2 strokes	Peter McWhinney Duffy Waldorf	144,000	The Lakes
76th	1991	ANZ	Wayne Riley	285	−3	1 stroke	Robert Allenby (a)	126,000	Royal Melbourne
75th	1990	ANZ	John Morse	283	−5	Playoff[lower-alpha 6]	Craig Parry	108,000	The Australian
74th	1989	ANZ	Peter Senior	271	−17	7 strokes	Peter Fowler	90,000	Kingston Heath	[80]
National Panasonic Australian Open
73rd	1988	ANZ	Mark Calcavecchia	269	−19	6 strokes	Mark McCumber	63,000	Royal Sydney	[81]
72nd	1987	ANZ	Greg Norman (3)	273	−15	10 strokes	Sandy Lyle	54,000	Royal Melbourne	[82]
71st	1986	ANZ	Rodger Davis	278	−10	1 stroke	Ian Baker-Finch Graham Marsh Bob Shearer	49,500	Metropolitan	[83]
70th	1985	ANZ	Greg Norman (2)	212[lower-alpha 4]	−4	2 strokes	Ossie Moore	45,000	Royal Melbourne	[84]
69th	1984	ANZ	Tom Watson	281	−7	1 stroke	Bob Stanton	36,000	Royal Melbourne	[85]
Australian Open
68th	1983	ANZ	Peter Fowler	285	−3	3 strokes	Ian Baker-Finch	27,000	Kingston Heath	[86]
67th	1982	ANZ	Bob Shearer	287	−1	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus Payne Stewart	40,500	The Australian	[87]
66th	1981	ANZ	Bill Rogers	282	−6	1 stroke	Greg Norman	27,000	Victoria	[68]
Dunhill Australian Open
65th	1980	ANZ	Greg Norman	284	−4	1 stroke	Brian Jones	35,000	The Lakes	[66]
64th	1979	ANZ	Jack Newton	288	E	1 stroke	Graham Marsh Greg Norman	30,000	Metropolitan	[65]
Australian Open
63rd	1978	ANZ	Jack Nicklaus (6)	284	−4	6 strokes	Ben Crenshaw	44,000	The Australian	[88]
62nd	1977	ANZ	David Graham	284	−4	3 strokes	Don January Bruce Lietzke John Lister	36,000	The Australian	[89]
61st	1976	ANZ	Jack Nicklaus (5)	286	−2	4 strokes	Curtis Strange	32,000	The Australian	[90]
60th	1975	ANZ	Jack Nicklaus (4)	279	−9	3 strokes	Bill Brask	8,820	The Australian	[64]
Qantas Australian Open
59th	1974	ANZ	Gary Player (7)	277	−11	3 strokes	Norman Wood		Lake Karrinyup	[63]
58th	1973	ANZ	J. C. Snead	280	−8	2 strokes	Jerry Breaux	4,000	Royal Queensland	[62]
57th	1972		Peter Thomson (3)	281	−7	Playoff[lower-alpha 7]	David Graham	3,600	Kooyonga	[60][61]
56th	1971		Jack Nicklaus (3)	269	−19	8 strokes	Bruce Crampton	3,600	Royal Hobart	[59]
55th	1970		Gary Player (6)	280	−8	3 strokes	Bruce Devlin	3,000	Kingston Heath	[58]
54th	1969		Gary Player (5)	288	E	1 stroke	Guy Wolstenholme	2,500	Royal Sydney	[57]
Australian Open
53rd	1968		Jack Nicklaus (2)	270	−18	1 stroke	Gary Player	2,500	Lake Karrinyup	[54]
52nd	1967		Peter Thomson (2)	281	−11	7 strokes	Col Johnston	1,600	Commonwealth	[53]
51st	1966		Arnold Palmer	276	−20	5 strokes	Kel Nagle	1,600	Royal Queensland	[52]
50th	1965		Gary Player (4)	264	−28	6 strokes	Jack Nicklaus Frank Phillips		Kooyonga	[51]
49th	1964		Jack Nicklaus	287	−1	Playoff[lower-alpha 8]	Bruce Devlin		The Lakes	[50]
48th	1963		Gary Player (3)	278	−18	7 strokes	Bruce Devlin		Royal Melbourne	[49]
47th	1962		Gary Player (2)	281		2 strokes	Kel Nagle		Royal Adelaide	[48]
46th	1961		Frank Phillips (2)	275		2 strokes	Kel Nagle		Victoria	[47]
45th	1960		Bruce Devlin (a)	282		1 stroke	Ted Ball (a)		Lake Karrinyup	[46]
44th	1959		Kel Nagle	284		5 strokes	Vic Bulgin (a) John Sullivan		The Australian	[45]
43rd	1958		Gary Player	271		5 strokes	Kel Nagle		Kooyonga	[44]
42nd	1957		Frank Phillips	287		1 stroke	Ossie Pickworth Gary Player		Kingston Heath	[42][43]
41st	1956		Bruce Crampton	289		2 strokes	Kel Nagle		Royal Sydney	[41]
40th	1955		Bobby Locke	290		1 stroke	Kel Nagle Norman Von Nida		Gailes	[40]
39th	1954		Ossie Pickworth (4)	280		8 strokes	Norman Von Nida		Kooyonga	[37]
38th	1953		Norman Von Nida (3)	278		2 strokes	Peter Thomson		Royal Melbourne	[39]
37th	1952		Norman Von Nida (2)	278		5 strokes	Ossie Pickworth		Lake Karrinyup	[38]
36th	1951		Peter Thomson	283		4 strokes	Norman Von Nida		Metropolitan	[36]
35th	1950		Norman Von Nida	286		1 stroke	Peter Thomson		Kooyonga	[91]
34th	1949		Eric Cremin	287		7 strokes	Norman Von Nida		The Australian	[35]
33rd	1948		Ossie Pickworth (3)	289		Playoff[lower-alpha 9]	Jim Ferrier		Kingston Heath	[33][34]
32nd	1947		Ossie Pickworth (2)	285		5 strokes	Billy McWilliam		Royal Queensland	[32]
31st	1946		Ossie Pickworth	289		2 strokes	Alan Waterson (a)		Royal Sydney	[30]
1940–1945: No tournament due to World War II
30th	1939		Jim Ferrier (a) (2)	285		2 strokes	Norman Von Nida Martin Smith		Royal Melbourne	[27][92]
29th	1938		Jim Ferrier (a)	283		14 strokes	Norman Von Nida		Royal Adelaide	[26][93]
28th	1937		George Naismith	299		1 stroke	Doug Davies (a) Tom McKay (a) Ossie Walker		The Australian	[94][95]
27th	1936		Gene Sarazen	282		4 strokes	Harry Williams (a)		Metropolitan	[29][96]
26th	1935		Fergus McMahon	293		1 stroke	Jim Ferrier (a)		Royal Adelaide	[25]
25th	1934		Billy Bolger	283		3 strokes	Gene Sarazen		Royal Sydney	[28][97]
24th	1933		Lou Kelly	302		3 strokes	Jim Ferrier (a) Gus Jackson (a) Reg Jupp		Royal Melbourne	[98][99]
23rd	1932		Mick Ryan (a)	296		1 stroke	Fergus McMahon		Royal Adelaide	[19]
22nd	1931		Ivo Whitton (a) (5)	301		1 stroke	Jim Ferrier (a)		The Australian	[18]
21st	1930		Frank Eyre	306		7 strokes	George Fawcett (a) Rufus Stewart		Metropolitan	[100]
20th	1929		Ivo Whitton (a) (4)	309		5 strokes	Frank Eyre Rufus Stewart		Royal Adelaide	[17]
19th	1928		Fred Popplewell (2)	295		1 stroke	Rufus Stewart		Royal Sydney	[21]
18th	1927		Rufus Stewart	297		2 strokes	Harry Sinclair		Royal Melbourne	[22]
17th	1926		Ivo Whitton (a) (3)	297		3 strokes	Rufus Stewart		Royal Adelaide	[16]
16th	1925		Fred Popplewell	299		2 strokes	Tom Howard		The Australian	[20]
15th	1924		Alex Russell (a)	303		2 strokes	Carnegie Clark		Royal Melbourne	[15][101]
14th	1923		Tom Howard	301		3 strokes	Arthur Ham		Royal Adelaide	[102]
13th	1922		Charlie Campbell	307		3 strokes	Arthur Le Fevre		Royal Sydney	[103]
12th	1921		Arthur Le Fevre	295		10 strokes	Tom Rutledge (a)		Royal Melbourne	[104]
11th	1920		Joe Kirkwood Sr.	290		5 strokes	Dan Soutar		The Australian	[14]
1914–1919: No tournament due to World War I
10th	1913		Ivo Whitton (a) (2)	302		3 strokes	Audley Lemprière (a)		Royal Melbourne	[13]
9th	1912		Ivo Whitton (a)	321		5 strokes	Dan Soutar Fred Popplewell		Royal Melbourne	[12]
8th	1911		Carnegie Clark (3)	321		1 stroke	Fred Popplewell		Royal Sydney	[11]
7th	1910		Carnegie Clark (2)	306		11 strokes	Dan Soutar		Royal Adelaide	[10]
6th	1909		Claude Felstead (a)	316		2 strokes	Dan Soutar		Royal Melbourne	[9]
5th	1908		Clyde Pearce (a)	311		3 strokes	Dan Soutar		The Australian	[8]
4th	1907		Michael Scott (a) (2)	318		8 strokes	Dan Soutar		Royal Melbourne	[7]
3rd	1906		Carnegie Clark	322		5 strokes	Dan Soutar		Royal Sydney	[6]
2nd	1905		Dan Soutar	337		10 strokes	Michael Scott (a)		Royal Melbourne	[5]
1st	1904		Michael Scott (a)	315		8 strokes	Leslie Penfold Hyland (a)		The Australian	[4]

Sources:[105][106]

• Women's Australian Open
• Australian Amateur
• Australian Boys' Amateur

• Official website
• Coverage on the PGA Tour of Australasia official site
• Coverage on the European Tour's official site