US Masters champion Rory McIlroy will play in this year’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne in a major coup for Golf Australia.
McIlroy, who broke through for a stunning Masters win last month, has agreed to join a host of Australian stars with the tournament expected to include Cam Smith, Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott for the tournament which will be played at Royal Melbourne from December 4-7 this year.
Speculation has swirled around whether the five-time major would be the star attraction for the 2025 Open.
The Victorian government confirmed McIlroy would play at this year’s tournament at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in December, and next year’s tournament at Kingston Heath Golf Club, Cheltenham, in Melbourne’s south-east.
“I’m proud to be committing to the Australian Open for the next two years, especially with it being played on the world-class Melbourne Sandbelt, somewhere I’ve always wanted to play professionally,” McIlroy said.
“Melbourne is known for being one of the world’s great sporting cities and I can’t wait to be part of that atmosphere and soak in everything it has to offer, both on and off the course.”
Rory McIlroy poses with the Masters trophy.Credit: Getty Images
The Royal Melbourne will play host to the men’s event for a 17th time in December, while next year’s tournament will be the eighth held at Kingston.
Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos said locking in McIlroy was a “major coup”.
“Rory is one of the greatest golfers in history and his desire to come to Melbourne highlights just how brilliant our Sandbelt courses are and why this is one of the great golfing cities of the world,” McIlroy said.
“These tournaments will be fantastic for our visitor economy, filling hotel rooms, restaurants and cafes and showcasing our state to millions more following on from overseas.”
As the hottest commodity in world golf following his epic US Masters victory last month, which saw McIlroy become just the sixth male player to win the grand slam of majors, the Northern Irishman would command a multi-million dollar appearance fee.
It is unknown what McIlroy will be paid, but a golf source said Tiger Woods received $3 million when he played in Australia in 2009.
This year will be McIlroy’s first Australian Open appearance in 11 years, after he won the Stonehaven Cup in 2013 in a thrilling duel with Adam Scott at Royal Sydney and returned to try and defend it in 2014.
Former Australian pro-turned-commentator Paul Gow earlier this month said luring McIlroy to Australia would require his Australian friends like Adam Scott and Jason Day to “sell the dream” of foregoing a massive payday to test himself in a challenging tournament at Royal Melbourne, and help foster the world game, too.
Tiger Woods played at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2019.Credit: Getty
“We need a Pied Piper, and he is our Pied Piper. Imagine if we get Scotty Scheffler here too … others would follow. They’d go back and talk and say, hey, how good was that? Players, that’s how we talk,” Gow said.
“You want to be challenged. Some of the golf courses they play week in, week out over there, aren’t that challenging. If we can get him all over the line, he will be the pied piper to bring others down.”
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