While some of the best players in the world are competing elsewhere this week, the Australian Open has captured the appreciation of golf fans everywhere.
The Australian fans’ support of Rory McIlroy and their home favourites, Cameron Smith, Min Woo Lee, and Adam Scott in particular, has given the event a major championship feel. Even more than Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge event featuring Scottie Scheffler.
Scott said as much after his day one grouping with McIlroy and Lee, which saw a sea of fans waiting at the first tee box for the highly anticipated trio.
And the course at Royal Melbourne has risen to the occasion. The changing conditions has given players a different type of challenge every day, and it’s proven a true test for the world’s best players.
Heading into the final round, the event has been a roaring success, causing Australia’s only Masters winner, Scott, to speculate on the future of this historic tournament.
Adam Scott explains the importance of Rory McIlroy to the Australian Open
The legendary Jack Nicklaus once referred to the Australian Open as the fifth major championship. It was an iconic event that attracted the world’s best players, but in recent years, it’s lost that allure.
McIlroy is the first superstar name to play at the event since prime Tiger Woods, but Scott predicts that after seeing the reception the career Grand Slam winner received in Melbourne, more big names could be going Down Under in the years to come.
He said to Fox Sports, “I think it can move in that direction. I think there’s a thirst for international golf at the moment, and we’re lucky to have a guy at the top of the game like Rory, who’s a really international player and believes in that, and he’s carrying a lot of that weight on his shoulders. His support is huge.
Which tournament would you like to see become the fifth major championship?
The Australian Open, for example, should almost be the fifth major. The market down there is huge with potential.
Rory McIlroy
“We have the venues to handle it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more big names queuing up to come next year after what they see this week.”
McIlroy praised LIV Golf for their event in Australia earlier in the week, showing a desire to expand the PGA Tour beyond the borders of the United States.
This will require buy-in from Scottie Scheffler, who is hesitant to play abroad unless it’s for The Open Championship, but more environments like this could see the Australian Open return to its former glory.
Rory McIlroy said if the Australian Open should be the fifth major
When discussing the need to globalize golf last year, 2025 Masters winner, McIlroy, said that the Australian Open could be like a fifth major championship, largely because of the passion of the home fans.
He said, “The Australian Open, for example, should almost be the fifth major. The market down there is huge with potential.
He continued, “They love golf. They love sport. They have been starved of top-level golf. And the courses are so good.”
This was an important event, therefore, to prove McIlroy’s point. With the Northern Irishman playing at the tournament for the first time since 2014, the atmosphere has to live up to McIlroy’s hype in order to stay in these conversations.
The home fans have certainly played their part. Now it’s the job of golf’s biggest stars to recognize that, and play next year.
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