[PHOTO: ISPS Handa Australian Open/Getty Images]
The future of the Australian Open remains unclear with player frustrations boiling over in Melbourne this week after three years of the mixed men’s and women’s format.
Before the national championship, Adam Scott, the 2009 winner – who chose to rest at his home base in Switzerland after a busy 2024 schedule instead of playing this year’s Australian summer – said: “There is a place for different formats, but your national Open is not the place for that.”
The Australian Open has been a mixed event since 2022, when a complicated format saw three tournaments – the men, women and Australian All Abilities Championship – held across two courses. South African star Ash Buhai won the first of her two consecutive Opens and had to share the stage, and a press conference, with men’s winner Adrian Meronk. Earlier that week, players had faced a 36-hole and a 54-hole cut, the latter of which Cameron Smith fell victim to and couldn’t play the final round. He was the reigning British Open champion at the time. The 54-hole cut was scrapped for the 2023 edition.
The dual gender format has had some positives: the women’s field has competed for the same $1.7 million purse as the men. Fans have been able to watch Smith and Minjee Lee play the same course within minutes of each other.
But the 2024 Australian Open began with Smith, the biggest name in the field, teeing off about the “soft and slow” course set ups at Kingston Heath and Victoria as “disappointing” and not how the usually firm, fast Melbourne Sandbelt layouts play. He said heavy rain that fell in Melbourne on Sunday and Wednesday was “bulls–t excuse”.
Smith’s fellow major winner, Hannah Green, said the courses in round one had been set up easier to allow for men and women to play concurrently. “The pins were pretty generous today; I do think if the men played at this course, the pins would be much more tucked,” Green said.
Golf Australia chief executive James Sutherland said on radio 3AW on Friday that directions to tournament officials for the course set up had been clear. “[The] instructions were a hard and fast Sandbelt,” Sutherland reportedly said. “Weather played a part… we wanted the greens to be hard and fast, and that was our instructions.”
This week, the two courses have played anything but. Heavy rain certainly hasn’t helped. Players have been flying approach shot past pins and spinning them back, something you don’t often see on the Melbourne Sandbelt during late spring and summer.
Green, Australia’s standout performer this year with three LPGA Tour wins, said she wanted the Women’s Australian Open returned to its February date. Green, Lee and several others who ply their trade on the LPGA Tour had to play the Australian Open without a practice round after coming in hot on Wednesday morning from the US where they played the finale in Florida.
“If you want the best of the best to come and play for the trophy, unfortunately, this isn’t the time of year,” Green said. “I do wish it would go back to February just so we can have Nelly Korda, Brooke Henderson, all the girls that did come down to Australia (again) to compete for the trophy.”
As for the Australian Open’s future, it remains uncertain. There aren’t any known deals in place with any state governments to host the 2025 edition. Players like Smith would love to see the event remain on the Melbourne Sandbelt and have it switch between a rota of Sandbelt courses.
There is speculation that this is the final year of the mixed format, although that has not been confirmed. Sutherland and Golf Australia issued a statement on Friday afternoon.
“We understand the focus on the future of the Australian Open as all three championships mean so much to so many, so we will continue to consult with key stakeholders to ensure the success of the event moving forward,” Sutherland wrote. “As the golf world continues to evolve, Golf Australia will remain agile and adaptable to deliver the best product for our players, the tours, fans, partners and beyond.”
That’s open for interpretation, but all this 120-year-old tournament needs is simplicity.
