A look back at the Australian Open’s run of championships in Sydney
Those of us who lived in Sydney at the time savoured the convenience but questioned the lack of variety. The Australian Open was going to be held in our city for a multi-year period under a partnership agreement with the New South Wales Government.
Starting in 2006, the national championship would call Sydney home through until at least 2014. An extension saw the arrangement last until 2023 but allowed for ‘release’ years, which were set for 2020 and 2022, although the first of those was quashed by COVID.
The late Colin Phillips, head of the Australian Golf Union (which later evolved into Golf Australia), once told your columnist that during his time, Australian Opens in Sydney consistently drew the largest crowds. So from a patronage perspective, the deal sounded wise. Where things became murky, however, was the quantity of suitable host venues.
The Australian, The Lakes and Royal Sydney were no-brainers – and it’s no surprise to look back on our Open’s ‘Sydney era’ and see that those three held all but one during that span – but we wondered whether other options existed. The one-time experiment at magnificent and windswept New South Wales Golf Club in 2009 wound up being the lone departure. Then-chairman of the championship Paul McNamee sought to right a wrong in the history books (the club had never hosted the Australian Open), but the high volume of logistical issues confirmed what many of us knew: while an unbelievable golf course and an even better location, a lack of space for tournament infrastructure and a tricky site at La Perouse made it too difficult to schedule a return. Now 14 years on, there hasn’t been one.
The Australian Open may well return to Sydney quickly – perhaps even as early as next year or in 2025 – but this year marks the official end of the current arrangement with the NSW Government. While not officially part of the government partnership (which didn’t kick in until 2006), the ‘Sydney era’ essentially began with the Centenary Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in 2004.
I remember walking home after the final day’s play that year – at the time I lived in the same suburb as The Australian – perplexed by one turn of events. Peter Lonard, who was at the height of his powers on his home circuit, won a second straight Open by making a fluky birdie at the 71st hole. A quick hook off the tee at the par-4 17th hole received a huge stroke of fortune when his ball ricocheted off a pine tree and back in play. Although a long way back, Lonard could still reach the green in regulation. Swinging right in front of me, he rifled a long iron to the back fringe of the green and then holed the ensuing chip for an improbable birdie. A drama-free final hole gave him the trophy by a shot over Stuart Appleby.
My confusion, however, stemmed from the complete absence of any questioning of Lonard about that 17th hole during his post-round media conference. I was not there to file a report so stayed quiet but regretted doing so afterwards. I later learned the television broadcast had missed the crucial break he received as well as the subsequent piercing iron shot, meaning all my peers who were in the media centre at the time and not on the course were unaware of it. It’s a pity so few people saw it, as Lonard’s long iron was one of the best shots struck at the Australian Open during its ‘Sydney era’.
Later, we witnessed the emotional victory in 2006 of John Senden, whose family was battling severe drought conditions on their rural property. A year later, a different drought finally broke for Craig Parry after a career of near-misses at the Australian Open. Mathew Goggin gifted the 2008 championship to South African Tim Clark in a rare Australian Open playoff (there have been only seven since 1904) before Adam Scott captured the 2009 edition at the lone visit to NSW Golf Club. The Lakes held three championships in a row from 2010 to 2012, won by Geoff Ogilvy, Greg Chalmers and the evergreen Peter Senior, before Rory McIlroy snuck past Scott at Royal Sydney in 2013. Jordan Spieth and Matt Jones won two apiece between 2014 and 2019, letting in only Cam Davis (2017) and Mexican Abraham Ancer (2018) in between.
We lost two Australian Opens to COVID, the 2020 and 2021 editions, meaning this year’s championship will be the first held in Sydney since 2019. That year, The Australian Golf Club was blanketed in smoke haze – the result of the bushfires that ravaged NSW that summer. In many ways, far worse was to come in golf and globally during the next two years.
Let’s hope it’s only the players who are ‘on fire’ at this year’s championship, as we await what’s ahead for the Australian Open and its geographical challenges.
GETTY IMAGES: chris mcgrath
