Australian Masters
The Australian Masters was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia held in Victoria, Australia from 1979 to 2015.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Melbourne, Australia |
| Established | 1979 |
| Course(s) | 2015 - Huntingdale Golf Club |
| Organized by | IMG |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour of Australasia European Tour (2006–09) |
| Format | Stroke play |
| Prize fund | A$750,000 |
| Month played | November |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate | 268 Bradley Hughes (1998) |
| To par | −24 (as above) |
| Final champion | |
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The tournament was co-sanctioned by the European Tour from 2006 to 2009, with a significant 20% increase in the prize fund. Because the tournament is played late in the calendar year, in November or December, it formed part of the following year's European Tour schedule from 2006 through 2008. With the European Tour's decision to realign its schedule with the calendar year for 2010, the 2009 event was the first to be part of the current calendar year's tour schedule. The co-sanctioning with the European Tour was dropped after the 2009 event.
Until 2008, the Australian Masters was always held at the Huntingdale Golf Club in South Oakleigh. From 2009, a rotation system was introduced and the event was staged at different courses in the Melbourne area.[1]
Home golfers have dominated the event, with former world number one Greg Norman having the most success, winning the Gold Jacket on six occasions. Two other Australians have also won three times – Craig Parry and Peter Senior. Overseas players to have taken the title include European Ryder Cup stars, Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie.
Since 2007, the Official World Golf Ranking awarded at least 20 points to Australian Masters winners. Some editions have had top American and European players, which increased the points to 32 in 2011, 30 in 2010 and 28 in 2009.
On 18 March 2009 the Victorian State Government announced a major coup, confirming that then World Number 1 Tiger Woods would play in the 2009 event at its new venue, Kingston Heath.[2] The announcement caused a minor public backlash due to 50% of Woods' A$3 million appearance fee being paid by taxpayer funds. Woods' appearance was tipped to generate close to A$20 million for the Victorian economy via tourism and other related areas.[3]
The event is owned by IMG.[4] The event was not played in 2016 and its future is reported to be in doubt.[5]
The tournament's iconic broadcast theme music used during the 1980s and 1990s was "Send Them Victorious" by Graham De Wilde, with tournament's tagline "The Tradition Continues" in use for the duration of its existence.
Winners
- PGA Tour of Australasia event (2010–2015)
| Year | Winner | Country | Venue | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniqlo Masters | |||||||
| 2015 | Peter Senior (3) | | Huntingdale | 276 | −8 | 2 strokes |  |
| BetEasy Masters | |||||||
| 2014 | Nick Cullen | | Metropolitan | 279 | −9 | 1 stroke | |
| Talisker Masters | |||||||
| 2013 | Adam Scott (2) | | Royal Melbourne | 270 | −14 | 2 strokes | |
| 2012 | Adam Scott | | Kingston Heath | 271 | −17 | 4 strokes |  |
| JBWere Masters | |||||||
| 2011 | Ian Poulter | | Victoria | 269 | −15 | 3 strokes | |
| 2010 | Stuart Appleby | | Victoria | 274 | −10 | 1 stroke | |
- PGA Tour of Australasia and European Tour event (2006–2009)
| Year | European season | Winner | Country | Venue | Score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JBWere Masters | ||||||||
| 2009 | 2009 | Tiger Woods | | Kingston Heath | 274 | −14 | 2 strokes | |
| Sportsbet Australian Masters | ||||||||
| 2008 | 2009 | Rod Pampling | | Huntingdale | 276 | −12 | Playoff | |
| MasterCard Masters | ||||||||
| 2007 | 2008 | Aaron Baddeley | | Huntingdale | 275 | −13 | Playoff |  |
| 2006 | 2007 | Justin Rose | | Huntingdale | 276 | −12 | 2 strokes | |
- PGA Tour of Australasia event (1979–2005)
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Note: all editions until 2009 were played at Huntingdale Golf Club.
References
- "Huntingdale's hold on Australian Masters at an end". The Australian. 23 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
- Linden, Julian (19 March 2009). "Woods to play in Australia for first time in over a decade". Reuters. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
- "Tiger Woods comes to Melbourne, costing taxpayers $1.5m". Herald Sun. 19 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
- Connolly, Eoin (6 April 2010). "IMG ties JBWere to Australian Masters extension". SportsPro.
- Gould, Russell (30 March 2016). "Australian Masters 2016 called off and the future of the event remains unclear". Herald Sun.
- "AUSTRALIAN MASTERS". users.tpg.com.au. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- https://www.where2golf.com/golf-tournament/australian-masters.asp