Golf Australia ponders future of joint tournament as Johnston and Shin take Open titles
By Peter Ryan
Golf Australia is not wedded to playing the men’s and women’s Australian Open together in the future after leading players expressed their concern about the format and its timing during this year’s event at Kingston Heath.
However, chief executive James Sutherland said the governing body had to balance the concerns of the game’s best players with the financial realities that led to the dual format being introduced three years ago.
The three Australian Open titles on offer at Kingston Heath were won on Sunday by South Korea’s Simon Seungmin Lee (all abilities champion), America’s Ryggs Johnston (men’s title) and Jiyai Shin, of South Korea (women’s champion).Credit: Getty Images
He said it was no secret that many leading male players liked the tournament’s date but didn’t like the format, while the best female players struggled with the date but liked the exposure the format gave their game.
Sutherland said financial realities and the need to grow the game meant the solution was not as simple as just deciding to play the men’s and women’s events at different times.
The tournament’s main drawcard, Cameron Smith, set the debate alight when he criticised the course set-up before the tournament, prompting Sutherland to admit it would be ideal to play the dual format at a 36-hole course such as Royal Melbourne or Peninsula-Kingswood.
Sutherland said decisions about whether the tournaments would remain in Victoria were yet to be made. Discussions with the Victorian government about the location are now expected to escalate.
“We understand the focus on the future of the Australian Open as all three championships [men’s, women’s and all abilities] mean so much to so many, so we will continue to consult with key stakeholders to ensure the success of the event moving forward,” Sutherland said.
On Sunday, after completing his round, Smith was cautious in giving his view on whether the men and women should play together, but said it had “been a long week” and he remained none the wiser as to some of the reasons behind the format and the course set-up.
Sutherland said Golf Australia, while well aware of the stars’ views, was balancing many issues, including that the women’s tournament had struggled for financial viability as a standalone event.
“Any suggestions that we sit idly in our offices and make decisions about these events without talking to players and their representatives is just categorically untrue,” Sutherland said.
The greens at the Australian Open became tougher to play in the second round.Credit: Getty Images
“We’ve spent time with players this week and their representatives this week, and we will continue to do that. Some of them know more than others where we are at with all of that.
“The simple solution would be to separate [the men and women] and let’s go back to great events like that, but it’s not quite that easy because there are a lot of very, very important stakeholders who bring this event together and make it economically viable, financially sustainable and also sustainable in terms of getting the outcomes we want.”
Sutherland said the tournament organisers knew how critical the broadcast was to getting commercial partners investing in the game, and the importance star golfers played in attracting viewers and crowds.
Smith played this week, but Adam Scott was absent, while Jason Day played in the Australian PGA but not the Open. Hannah Green arrived from Florida on Wednesday for the Open.
Cameron Smith tees off at the Australian Open.Credit: Getty Images
“The players are the star of the show, and they are incredibly important to us and the way that they support our event at the end of a very, very long season is incredible,” Sutherland said.
He said enough had been said about the way the courses were set up. However, WPGA chief executive Karen Lunn backed Sutherland’s previous comments that the instructions were, to her understanding, to “play how they are supposed to play, hard and fast, but we can’t control the weather”.
“From the girls’ point of view, the pins we are playing here and Victoria are much, much harder than they would normally play any other week,” Lunn said.
Earlier in the day, Smith admitted he was so angry after torpedoing his chances in the tournament with a disastrous back nine on Friday that he could hardly sleep.
With his playing group “put on the clock” on Friday, Smith, 31, dropped five shots to fall back in the pack, and he was unable to regain that ground at the weekend as he finished a disappointing tournament three under par on Sunday.
“That back nine on Friday just kind of hurt, and it was hard to get over,” Smith said. “I was frustrated and angry that whole night, got a terrible sleep and was up all night thinking about it,” Smith said. “It was just hard to get back into the rhythm of things.”
It ended a frustrating week at Kingston Heath for Smith who criticised the preparation of the course before the tournament. He said on Sunday he had asked whether officials wanted the courses more friendly to aid scoring in the women’s tournament but had not received an adequate response.
Asked whether he thought it was fair on the women to combine the two national titles as part of the same event, Smith played a straight bat.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I have asked that question and I haven’t got any answers from the higher-uppers, so it is probably unfair for me to answer for them. It’s a long week out here. I’ll just say that.”
He said he had inquired in each of the past two years whether the courses had been prepared differently because of the format but had not received an adequate answer.
“It’s a question I have asked consecutively about course set-up, and we have had some conversations with it, and it was the same again this year, so I am not sure on the reason,” Smith said.
Huge crowds followed Smith on the back nine of his final round in Australia before his scheduled departure late on Sunday, showing their appreciation when he made a birdie on the final hole.
Smith has played four tournaments in the past five weeks, and was hoping score his first Australian Open victory, but left on Sunday night with runner-up prizes from the Australian PGA and NSW Open, and a third placing in the Queensland PGA. His first baby is due in March, and his plans for 2025 remain uncertain, but he said he would like to return
“Particularly, the state events don’t get a lot of support from top players, and it’s nice to be back to support those and give back to local communities,” Smith said. “Hopefully, I can keep doing it in the future.”
World’s 954th-ranked player scores upset win to claim men’s title
Unknown American Ryggs Johnston watched one of the Gladiator films the night before scoring a major upset in this year’s Australian Open as the 954th-ranked player in the world.
Ryggs Johnston gets acquainted with the Stonehaven Cup after his Australian Open win.Credit: Getty Images
It was a fitting preparation for the 24-year-old – named after Mel Gibson’s character in Lethal Weapon – who held on to his overnight lead by shooting four under par to win.
Johnston defeated Australian Curtis Luck by three shots, while Marc Leishman and Jasper Stubbs finished tied for third.
Luck and Leishman now join Johnston as automatic qualifiers for next year’s British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Stubbs missed out on automatic entry because he is ranked lower than Leishman.
Johnston looked stunned to join fellow Americans Jordan Spieth, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus as winners of the title, and admitted to being stressed until he opened up a gap with birdie putts on the 14th and 15th holes as Leishman made a double-bogey on the 16th.
“It was definitely a little stressful. At the 17th, with a three-shot lead, I could breathe a little bit and just say I need to hit a couple more good shots,” Johnston said.
His performance at Kingston Heath, with its tricky contours and sand traps, shocked seasoned golfers. Johnston had never played the course before, but managed to record 15 under from three rounds before finishing the Open 18 under par after also going three under in his round at the Victoria Golf Club.
Johnston’s accuracy helped secure his surprise win.Credit: Getty Images
Built like a putter, he showed his steel with long arms propelling the ball long and straight, his accuracy fine-tuned by a lifelong love of hunting in Montana, where he grew up.
Somehow he managed to hit the carpet-like fairways with ease.
“Even with all the weather, the conditions were pretty much perfect as far as I could tell,” Johnston said.
“It felt like you could take the fairways and put them in your house.”
Having only recently won his way through DP qualifying school, it was just his second DP World Tour event, and produced a result that is likely to catapult him to 313th in the world.
“My career is still really young,” he said.
Leishman’s career is not so young, but his joy was real at not having to play 36 holes in one day to qualify for the Open Championship.
“I’m very excited to get back to Portrush,” he said. “I had a great time last time. I didn’t play great, but I really liked the course. I just hope I can get back there and enjoy everything Northern Ireland has to offer.”
The laid-back Victorian said his arrival at the 16th was a case of bad timing – the rain was hitting hard as he took one of his least favourite tee shots.
“That was a tough one to take,” Leishman said.
“You don’t mind when you get outplayed. They are hard to win.”
Luck said finishing with two bogeys was not ideal, but the automatic qualification for the British Open was a nice perk.
He hit the lead after the 14th hole. But, after overcoming recent neck injuries, he said the amount of golf he had played in the previous three weeks eventually took its toll on the home stretch.
He said he would need to carefully map out a plan that would allow him to manage his injury concerns and play in the British Open, but he was confident of his capacity to perform on that stage.
“I still believe 100 per cent I can be right up there with the best,” Luck said.
The big disappointment was Victorian Lucas Herbert, who led the tournament by four shots at the halfway mark but could not assert himself and became agitated when his putting skills deserted him, finishing equal fifth.
Shin overcomes nerves to take title
A remarkable two eagles in the first 10 holes gave South Korean golfing veteran Jiyai Shin enough of a gap to ride out an attack of the nerves and win her second Australian Open by two shots from defending champion South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai.
Buhai pushed Shin right to the line, drawing back to within two shots after being seven shots behind at one stage, and if not for missing two gettable putts in the final two holes, she could have forced the tournament into an unlikely play-off.
That pair were eight shots ahead of third-placed South Korean amateur Hyojin Yang after Hannah Green lost her way with a disappointing round of six over to tie in fourth place with fellow Australian Grace Kim.
Korea’s Jiyai Shin celebrates her Australian Open victory.Credit: Getty Images
Shin, who won the Patricia Bridges Bowl in 2013, holed out a par to finish with a score of 70.
She described her eagle on the par-four fourth as close to the best shot of her career as she drained a 102-metre wedge shot from under a tree but was not immune to nerves as her lead dwindled.
“I welcome to feel nervous because sometimes when I play, I miss feeling nervous,” Shin said.
“[Nerves] means I really want it. I had a good feeling with the nervousness.”
Buhai, who won the previous two Australian opens, was pragmatic about the result.
“I’m proud of myself for giving it a shot and making it interesting down the stretch,” Buhai said.
Her friend and playing partner Green was disappointed to drop away after battling fatigue through the week, but said she was proud of her year and tournament.
“Overall, I’m just really happy with how I tried to fight out there,” Green said.
“When [Shin] came out blazing, I was obviously tough on myself, and I think that made the situation worse.”
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