$9 million summer of golf

TWO new tournaments will make the upcoming Australian summer of golf the biggest in more than two decades with top-level professional golf to reach six states and into New Zealand.

The continued expansion of the Webex Players Series will see South Australia host an ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia event for the first time since the 2007 Jacob’s Creek Open, while the Heritage Classic returns to the schedule and will kick-off the second half of the 2023/2024 season in Victoria’s Yarra Valley.

TPS South Australia will be played at Willunga Golf Club in the famed McLaren Vale wine region less than an hour south of Adelaide, marking the first time that men and women will have featured in a professional golf tournament in South Australia.

Already one tournament in following Lachlan Barker’s victory at the PNG Open in May, the new season will pick up in familiar territory with the resumption of the NT PGA at Palmerston Golf and Country Club from August 17-20.

Dates for the second half of the season are still to be locked in but the continuation of tournaments such as the Vic Open, TPS events in Victoria, the Murray River, Sydney and the Hunter Valley and the New Zealand Open and New Zealand PGA has this season on course to feature more tournaments than any other dating back to the 21-event season in 2002 with total prizemoney nearing $9 million.

“In almost every week, from the start of October through to December, there will be a professional golf tournament in Australia highlighting the elite players in our game on some great golf courses,” said PGA of Australia CEO, Gavin Kirkman.

“Our two majors, the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and ISPS HANDA Australian Open, will again undoubtedly be highlights of Australia’s sporting summer as we look to build on what we achieved with those two tournaments last year.”

Highlighted by the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open at The Australian and The Lakes – both of which are co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour – there will be nine official tournaments between now and the end of the year.

Returning to the Joondalup Resort for the first time since Gerry Taylor defeated Brad King in a playoff in 1987, the WA Open and WA PGA Championship (Kalgoorlie Golf Course) will provide two weeks of world-class golf in the west.

Willunga Golf Club will host the inaugural TPS South Australia from October 19-22 to be followed two weeks later by the Queensland PGA Championship at Nudgee Golf Club.

Rising superstar Min Woo Lee is a confirmed starter for the Australian PGA Championship from November 23-26 and three-time DP World Tour winner Lucas Herbert and two-time Ladies European Tour winner Stephanie Kyriacou have committed to the Australian Open that tees off at The Australian and The Lakes golf clubs from November 30.

Building on the success of its tournament TV coverage last season, all of the PGA Tour of Australasia events in October and November will be televised on Fox Sports and Kayo, with the Nine Network broadcasting the Australian PGA and Australian Open.

Adding to the broadcast will be the use of TrackMan’s ground-breaking shot-tracking technology to provide a more immersive viewing experience.

“The addition of TrackMan’s suite of statistics and tracking for the upcoming season will enhance our broadcast for the millions of viewers who tune into the summer of golf. It’s a great result for our fans,” said the PGA of Australia’s Director of Commercial Australasia, Michael McDonald.

The full 2023/2024 schedule will be released in the coming weeks with the revived Heritage Classic to kick off the 2024 portion of the season from January 11-14.

ISPS PGA Tour of Australasia schedule (as of July 21)
August 17-20: Northern Territory PGA Championship (Palmerston G&CC)
October 5-8: WA Open (Joondalup Resort)
October 12-15: WA PGA Championship (Kalgoorlie GC)
October 19-22: TPS South Australia (Willunga GC)
November 2-5: Queensland PGA Championship (Nudgee GC)
November 9-12: Gippsland Super 6 (Warragul CC)
November 16-19: Victorian PGA Championship (Moonah Links)
November 23-26: Fortinet Australian PGA Championship (Royal Queensland GC)
November 30-December 3: ISPS HANDA Australian Open (The Australian GC/The Lakes GC)
January 11-14: Heritage Classic (The Heritage G&CC)