Golf in Australia
Encyclopedia
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
played in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Tournaments
The PGA Tour of AustralasiaPGA Tour of Australasia
The PGA Tour of Australasia is a professional golf tour for men. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ranking points. The tour was formed in 1973 as the PGA Tour of Australia and adopted its current name in 1991....
is the main men's tour in Australia. it was founded in 1973 as the PGA Tour of Australia, and changed to its current name in 1991. The tour is one of the five charter members of the International Federation of PGA Tours, making it a 1st tier tour. In 2007 the tour has a schedule consisting of 12 events, but only three of them are sole-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia. The PGA Tour of Australasia's development tour is the Von Nida Tour.
Various tournaments are played in Australia including the Australian Open
Australian Open (golf)
The Australian Open is one of the principal annual golf tournaments on the PGA Tour of Australasia, and also the OneAsia Tour since its formation in 2009. The event was first played in 1904 and takes place toward the end of each year...
, which has been held since 1904. the Australian Masters
Australian Masters
The Australian Masters, currently known as the JBWere Masters for sponsorship reasons, is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. The tournament was founded in 1979, and was co-sanctioned by the European Tour for the first time in 2006, with a significant 20% increase in the prize...
, which has been held since 1979, and the Australian PGA Championship, which has been held since 1905.
In women's golf, the ALPG Tour
ALPG Tour
The ALPG Tour is a professional golf tour for women which is based in Australia. ALPG stands for "Australian Ladies Professional Golf".The ALPG was founded as the Ladies Professional Golf Association of Australia in 1972, and switched to its current name in 1991. The first events featured twelve...
has operated since 1972. It became a member of the International Federation of PGA Tours in 2009 when that organisation expanded to include all of the major women's tours. In its most recent season, 2010–11, the tour consisted of 11 events. The two richest are respectively the Ladies Masters
ANZ Ladies Masters
The ANZ Ladies Masters is a golf tournament that is played in Australia. It is one of the leading tournaments on the ALPG Tour and has been co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour since 2001. Between 1997 and 2000 it was an event on the LPGA Tour....
, held since 1990, and the Women's Australian Open
Women's Australian Open (golf)
The Women's Australian Open is a golf tournament played in Australia which is sanctioned by the ALPG Tour and the Ladies European Tour . In 2008, it was the second-richest women's golf tournament on the ALPG Tour, with a prize fund of A$500,000...
, held since 1974. Both events are co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour
Ladies European Tour
The Ladies European Tour is a professional golf tour for women which was founded in 1979. It is based in England. Like many UK-based sports organisations it is a company limited by guarantee, a legal structure which enables it to focus on maximising returns to its members through prize money,...
.
Australia's top golfers, whether male or female, generally move to more lucrative tours—the European Tour
PGA European Tour
The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
or the U.S. PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
for men, and the Ladies European Tour or the U.S. LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
tour for women—at the first opportunity.
History
Bothwell, Tasmania
Bothwell, Tasmania is a small town with a population at the 2006 census of 376. Situated in central Tasmania on the River Clyde, it is notable for hunting and being a lake district. It is part of the municipality of Central Highlands Council...
in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. It was established in 1839 and some claim that it is the oldest course in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
. Formed in 1882, the Australian Golf Club
The Australian Golf Club
The Australian Golf Club is a golf club located in Rosebery, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Although it survived numerous course location changes, it is arguably the oldest golf club in Australia. To date the course has held 17 Australian Opens, the most recent being from 13–16 December 2007,...
in Sydney is the oldest golf club in Australia, however it was not used from 1888-1895. The Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Royal Melbourne Golf Club
Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a golf club located in Black Rock, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia with two courses. Royal Melbourne has hosted numerous national and international events, including the 1959 Canada Cup , and the 1970 World Cup...
is the oldest club in continuous use, founded on 22 May, 1891.
Players
Australians have won a total of 25 majors in men's and women's competition.Some notable players include:
- Kel NagleKel NagleKelvin David George Nagle is an Australian professional golfer best known for winning The Open Championship in 1960. He won at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975.Nagle was born in North Sydney...
- won The Open ChampionshipThe Open ChampionshipThe Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
in 1960. Was inducted into the World Golf Hall of FameWorld Golf Hall of FameThe World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
in 2007. - Greg NormanGreg NormanGregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
- ranked #1 in the world for 331 weeks. Inducted into the World Golf Hall of FameWorld Golf Hall of FameThe World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
in 2001. - Geoff OgilvyGeoff OgilvyGeoff Charles Ogilvy is an Australian professional golfer. He won the 2006 U.S. Open and has also won three World Golf Championships.-Professional career:...
- Winner of the 2006 U.S. Open2006 U.S. Open Golf ChampionshipThe 2006 United States Open Championship was the 106th U.S. Open, played from June 15 to June 18 at Winged Foot Golf Club West Course. The U.S. Open returned to Winged Foot for the first time since 1984 when Fuzzy Zoeller captured his second and final major championship. Geoff Ogilvy won his first...
. Has been ranked as high as #4, in 2009. - Adam Scott - achieved a ranking of 3rd in early 2007.
- Jan StephensonJan StephensonJan Lynne Stephenson is an Australian professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1974 and won three major championships and 16 LPGA Tour events in all....
- won three LPGA majorsWomen's major golf championshipsWomen's golf has a set of major championships which parallels that in men's golf, but the women's system is younger and has been less stable than the men's. Many professional stroke play events for women are played over three rounds , but the majors are played over four rounds , which is the...
in the early 1980s. - Peter Thomson - won The Open ChampionshipThe Open ChampionshipThe Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...
5 times. Inducted into the World Golf Hall of FameWorld Golf Hall of FameThe World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
in 1988. - Norman Von NidaNorman Von NidaNorman Guy Von Nida was an Australian professional golfer.Von Nida was born in Strathfield and grew up in Brisbane. He turned professional in 1933, after attracting attention by winning the Queensland Amateur aged just 18...
- one of the first successful Australian golfers. - Karrie WebbKarrie WebbKarrie Ann Webb AM is Australia's most successful female professional golfer, and one of the top players in the history of global women's golf. She currently plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and also turns out once or twice a year on the ALPG Tour in her home country. She is a member of...
– The only golfer to have won five separate events recognised as majors by the LPGA. Qualified for the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000; inducted in 2005.
External links
- Golf Australia, The History of the Game of Golf
- Golf.com.au
- ausgolf
- Golf in Australia Golf course information for Australia