Rory McIlroy was certainly vindicated for his decision to play in the Australian Open, with Royal Melbourne providing the stage for a phenomenal tournament this past week.
The Australian Open was certainly up against some strong competition. Bizarrely, the DP World Tour also decided to stage the Nedbank Golf Challenge the same week – with a bigger purse available at Gary Player Country Club.
Meanwhile, many of the PGA Tour‘s best were involved in the Hero World Challenge.
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
And of course, the Australian Open had to contend with the second Ashes Test. But those who attended Royal Melbourne were treated to a phenomenal event.
History made at the Australian Open
Sadly, there was no fairytale ending for the galleries. Cam Smith looked set to silence his doubters as he went down the final hole tied with Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
And when Neergaard-Petersen left himself in a seemingly impossible position in the rough with his approach, it appeared that two putts would likely be enough for Smith to secure an emotional win.
However, the Dane got up and down after a phenomenal chip. Meanwhile, Smith managed to three putt to lose by one.
It is hard to imagine what the atmosphere would have been like had the 2022 Open Championship winner gone on and secured victory.
It has now been confirmed by the tournament itself that 112,698 people made their way through the gates throughout the week.
That means that the 2025 Australian Open was the highest attended golf event in the country’s history.
How many people attended LIV Golf Adelaide in 2025 as the Australian Open sets a new record
It is a remarkable achievement when you consider the prestige of the Australian Open. It is a prime contender to become a fifth major if another tournament is added in the future.
But it also appears to have snatched the record off of LIV Golf Adelaide. According to LIV, over 102,000 people attended The Grange Golf Club for the 2025 event.
Adelaide is rapidly becoming the tournament which shows the potential LIV Golf could have. Even Rory McIlroy was full of praise for LIV’s event in Australia.
So it is a monumental achievement for the Australian Open to break that record in recent days.
It will be interesting to see if LIV will be able to snatch the title back with another round added to their events in 2026.
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