Newsmaker of the month: Commonwealth Games
[Photo from Getty images: David Ramos]
An Olympic sport for the past two iterations, golf will make its Commonwealth Games debut in Victoria in 2026.
Golf was one of four sports added to the program that will be conducted throughout four regional Victorian centres from March 17-29, 2026, with Vic Open home 13th Beach Golf Links on the Bellarine Peninsula an early favourite to serve as the host venue.
Australia’s Olympic golf representatives since golf’s return at Rio in 2016 have been Scott Hend, Marcus Fraser, Minjee Lee, Su Oh, Cameron Smith, Hannah Green and Marc Leishman, and now the next crop of rising stars can aim for gold on home soil.
“We absolutely love golf in the Olympic Games and we’re sure that the sport being in the Commonwealth Games will be important for golf going forward as well,” said PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman.
“It’s a big stage, the Commonwealth Games, and we’re privileged to be finally on it.”
Given the return of the Presidents Cup to Victoria in 2028 and the Brisbane Olympics in 2032, the game now has three major events in the next 10 years to further foster the sport.
Headliners
Grace Kim: The 21-year-old sensation earned a LPGA Tour card at her first attempt, finishing fifth on the secondary Epson Tour’s Order of Merit to earn promotion to the main stage in 2023.
Cameron Smith: The Open champion took just two events to exert his class on the LIV Golf tour, edging former world No.1 Dustin Johnson and American Peter Uihlein by three strokes at the LIV Golf Invitational-Chicago at Rich Harvest Farms. The win came a week after he was crowned PGA of America Player of the Year.
Travis Smyth: The 2017 NT PGA champion as an amateur, Smyth claimed his first victory as a professional at the Asian Tour’s Yeangder TPC just outside Taipei. Smyth won by two strokes from defending champion Lee Chieh-po.
Adam Scott: After a three-year hiatus, Scott confirmed he will return to Australia to play both the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship (November 24-27) and ISPS Handa Australian Open (December 1-4).
PGA Tour of Australasia: Announced that for the first time the season-long Order of Merit will be determined by a points system and not prizemoney. The move is designed to reduce the discrepancy between the highest and lowest prize purses.
Dylan Gardner: The PGA Associate at Pelican Waters Golf Club claimed the 2022 Pampling Plate, defeating Ben Hollis (Bribie Island GC) 2&1 in the 36-hole final.
Caitlin Peirce and Jack Buchanan: The hometown heroes took out the South Australian Amateur in impressive fashion at Tanunda Pines Golf Club in the Barossa Valley, Peirce defeating state teammate Amelia Whinney 4&3, while Buchanan got the better of Kooyonga’s Joseph Hodgson.
Jeffrey Guan and Amelia Harris: Two-time Australian Junior champion Guan and 14-year-old Victorian sensation Harris earned professional playing opportunities for the upcoming summer by taking out the adidas Junior 6 Tour World Final.
Vale
The name may not be immediately familiar to many, but Margie Masters owns a pivotal place within the history of Australian golf. Born in Swan Hill in 1934, Masters passed away in her adopted home of Tucson, Arizona, in early October at the age of 87, bringing new light to a career that paved the way for so many. A gifted amateur who won five Victorian Juniors and five straight women’s Victorian Opens (1959-1963), Masters also collected national titles in New Zealand (1956), South Africa (1957), Australia (1958) and Canada (1964). But her legacy is as the first Australian to join the LPGA Tour in the US. After her success as an amateur in Canada in 1964 – and buoyed by how her scores compared to leading professionals – Masters joined the pro ranks in 1965 and later that year was named Rookie of the Year. Two years later, she won her lone LPGA title, the Quality Chek’d Classic, by one stroke from Carol Mann, Kathy Whitworth and Mickey Wright, women who would accrue 208 career wins and 21 Majors between them.
