Superstars back on Australian shores, time-honoured tournaments returning to the schedule and a format change that promises to deliver an enthralling race to crown an Order of Merit champion; the 2022-2023 ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia season is coming in hot.
Starting with the CKB WA PGA Championship at the iconic Kalgoorlie Golf Course on the western fringe of the Nullarbor Plain, there are 16 scheduled tournaments throughout Australia and New Zealand over the next six months.
The ISPS Handa Australian Open will be contested for the first time since 2019 and will break new ground of its own. For the first time the Australian Open will bring both male and female golfers together at two storied venues in Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club.
Legends such as Karrie Webb and Geoff Ogilvy will tee it up alongside stars of today such as Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Hannah Green and Stephanie Kyriacou and two-time men’s champion Matt Jones.
The Australian Open is also one of two DP World Tour co-sanctioned events as one of golf’s biggest tours kicks off its season Down Under.
With record prizemoney of $2 million, the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship will serve as the first event of the new DP World Tour season where former winners in Smith and Scott will go head-to-head with Kiwi No.1 Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee, Lucas Herbert and defending champion Jed Morgan.
With people now able to freely move between Australia and New Zealand, the season is also significantly enhanced by the return of the New Zealand Open for the first time since 2020 and the NZ PGA Championship, which has been on hiatus since 2019.
There will be extensive television coverage over the course of the season and the move to a points-based Order of Merit is designed to deliver a thrilling finale in April where numerous pathway opportunities will be awarded to the top finishers.
“After two challenging years due to COVID-19 we are thrilled to unveil a 16-tournament schedule that welcomes back some of the largest events on the PGA Tour of Australasia calendar,” said Nick Dastey, the PGA of Australia’s tournaments director, Australasia.
“Travel restrictions have limited our capacity to conduct tournaments in New Zealand, so we can’t wait to get back to two events with such rich histories.
“It’s also great to have the Australian Open back and the coming together of both men and women on the Melbourne Sandbelt promises to begin a new chapter for two of Australia’s most treasured championships.
“This season also represents the return of some of our very best players to our biggest tournaments and their enthusiasm and support should ensure the summer of golf is one of our most successful in many years.”
The season begins with consecutive tournaments in Western Australia followed by a three-week break.
Starting with the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links from November 10-13, there is a five-week run of tournaments highlighted by the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club (November 24-27) and Australian Open (December 1-4).
In addition to tournaments in four of the country’s capital cities, the PGA Tour of Australasia season also stretches into regional communities on the Murray River, Victoria’s West Gippsland region and Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas, the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales and Kalgoorlie-Boulder in WA, where it all begins tomorrow.
2022-2023 schedule
October 13-16
CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics
Kalgoorlie Golf Course, Kalgoorlie, WA
Defending champion: Jay Mackenzie
Total prizemoney: $250,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
October 20-23
WA Open Golf Championship
Western Australian Golf Club, Perth, WA
Defending champion: Braden Becker
Total prizemoney: $162,500
Order of Merit points: 1,000
November 10-13
Victorian PGA Championship
Moonah Links (Open and Legends cses), Fingal, VIC
Defending champion: Blake Windred
Total prizemoney: $250,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
November 17-20
Queensland PGA Championship
Nudgee Golf Club, Nudgee, QLD
Defending champion: Anthony Quayle
Total prizemoney: $250,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
November 24-27
Fortinet Australian PGA Championship
Royal Queensland Golf Club, Eagle Farm, QLD
Defending champion: Jediah Morgan
Total prizemoney: $2,000,000
Order of Merit points: 4,000
December 1-4
ISPS Handa Australian Open
Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club, Cheltenham, VIC
Defending champion: Matt Jones (2019)
Total prizemoney: $1,700,000
Order of Merit points: 4,000
December 8-11
Gippsland Super 6
Warragul Country Club, Warragul, VIC
Defending champion: Jack Thompson
Total prizemoney: $200,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
January 26-29
TPS Victoria, hosted by Geoff Ogilvy
Rosebud Country Club (Composite cse), Rosebud, VIC
Defending champion: Todd Sinnott
Total prizemoney: $200,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
February 2-5
TPS Murray River, in Honour of Jarrod Lyle
Cobram Barooga Golf Club (Old cse), Barooga, NSW
Defending champion: Hannah Green
Total prizemoney: $200,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
February 9-12
Vic Open
13th Beach Golf Links (Beach and Creek cses), Barwon Heads, VIC
Defending champion: Dimitrios Papadatos
Total prizemoney: $420,000
Order of Merit points: 2,000
February 16-19
TPS Sydney, hosted by Braith Anasta
Bonnie Doon Golf Club, Pagewood, NSW
Defending champion: Jarryd Felton
Total prizemoney: $200,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
February 23-26
TPS Hunter Valley, hosted by Jan Stephenson & Peter O’Malley
Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort, Pokolbin, NSW
Defending champion: Aaron Pike
Total prizemoney: $200,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
March 2-5
102nd New Zealand Open
Millbrook Golf Resort, Queenstown, NZ
Defending champion: Brad Kennedy (2020)
Total prizemoney: TBA
Order of Merit points: TBA
March 9-12
NZ PGA Championship
Venue TBA, Auckland
Defending champion: Kazuma Kobori (2019)
Total prizemoney: TBA
Order of Merit points: TBA
March 16-19
Play Today NSW Open
Venue TBA
Defending champion: Harrison Crowe
Total prizemoney: $400,000
Order of Merit points: 2,000
March 30-April 2
PGA Tour of Australasia Season Finale
Venue TBA
Total prizemoney: $200,000
Order of Merit points: 1,000
