Sport | Golf |
---|---|
Jurisdiction | National |
Abbreviation | (GA) |
Founded | 2006 |
Affiliation | International Golf Federation (IGF) |
Regional affiliation | Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation |
Headquarters | Australian Golf Centre |
Location | Sandringham Golf Links, Cheltenham Road Cheltenham, Victoria 3192 |
Chairman | Peter Margin |
Board members | Peter Margin (Chairman), Richard Allen, David Brett, Sarah Chia, Jeannene O'Day, John Robinson, Wendy Machin, John Davis, Kelly Reynolds |
CEO | James Sutherland |
Official website | |
www | |
Golf Australia is the governing body for the sport of golf in Australia, formed in 2006 after the Australian Golf Union (AGU) and Women's Golf Australia (WGA) agreed to merge. [1] [2] The decision, which was formally ratified at a meeting in Melbourne in August 2005, [3] was made after the Australian Sports Commission threatened to withdraw its financial support unless the two bodies amalgamated. [4] The Australian Sports Commission contributed approximately A$1.5 million annually to the Australian Institute of Sport for golf funding. [5]
Colin Phillips, the AGU's executive director since 1978, retired from his position in 2005, claiming that the way the decision to merge had been forced upon the sport by the federal government, had been a factor in his decision. [4]
Following the merger, IMG, the sports marketing company which organises the Australian Open golf event, signed a three-year deal which increased its ties to Golf Australia. [6] Former tennis pro and new Open chairman Paul McNamee also renegotiated a deal signed by the old AGU, whereby the tournament would be hosted at the Moonah Links course in Rye, Victoria three times in every five years. That decision had been heavily criticised by golf professionals who found issue with the course layout, low attendances and poor corporate interest, [7] but the new organisation was able to reduce its obligation to three tournaments before 2020. [8]
Golf Australia runs the Australian Open and the Women's Australian Open, the premier male and female golf tournaments in Australia, as well as the Australian Amateur and other national amateur events. It also runs programs promoting golf in Australia, the two major being the MyGolf for juniors and the Crown Lager Social Golf Club. Minjee Lee and Jason Day have been ambassadors for MyGolf, and Stuart Appleby has been an ambassador for the Crown Lager Social Golf Club. [9]
Golf Australia supports the state associations Golf New South Wales, Golf Northern Territory, Golf Queensland, Golf South Australia, Golf Tasmania, Golf Victoria & Golf Western Australia who are responsible for the governance, delivery and direction of golf in their State.
The Golf Australia National Squad is the key component of the countries High Performance program which supports talented young golfers. Squad members have included Geoff Ogilvy, Karrie Webb, Adam Scott, Aaron Baddeley, Michael Sim and Katherine Hull.
With golf being readmitted back into the Olympic fold at the 2016 Summer Olympics, the role of Golf Australia was strengthened further. As part of this the Australian Sports Commission raised the funding to the sport in April 2013. [5]
Golf Australia owns and runs the Australian Handicapping system which operates throughout clubs nationally.
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open national championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four men's major golf championships, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour. Since 1898 the competition has been 72 holes of stroke play, with the winner being the player with the lowest total number of strokes. It is staged by the United States Golf Association (USGA) in mid-June, scheduled so that, if there are no weather delays, the final round is played on the third Sunday. The U.S. Open is staged at a variety of courses, set up in such a way that scoring is very difficult, with a premium placed on accurate driving. As of 2024, the U.S. Open awards a $21.5 million purse, the largest of all four major championships.
Mianne Bagger is a professional golfer from Denmark. In 2004, by playing in the Women's Australian Open, she became the first openly transitioned woman to play in a professional golf tournament. She also became the first trans woman to qualify for the Ladies European Tour in 2004, and the first high-profile transitioned woman to qualify for a professional sports tour since Renee Richards joined the Women's Tennis Association tour during the 1970s.
Karrie Anne Webb is an Australian professional golfer. She 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 World Golf Hall of Fame. She has 41 wins on the LPGA Tour, more than any other active player.
Peter William Thomson was an Australian professional golfer. In the late 1940s, Thomson turned pro and had much success on the Australasian circuits, culminating with a win at the 1951 Australian Open. He then moved onto the PGA Tour, playing on the circuit in 1953 and 1954, but did not have much success, failing to win. He decided to focus on Europe thereafter with extraordinary success, winning dozens of tournaments on the British PGA, including the Open Championship five times. As a senior, Thomson continued with success, winning 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all-time.
The Women's Open is a major championship in women's professional golf. It is recognised by both the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour as a major. The reigning champion is Lydia Ko, who won at the 2024 tournament.
The Canadian Women's Open, currently branded as the CPKC Women's Open for sponsorship reasons, is a women's professional golf tournament managed by Golf Canada. It has been Canada's national championship tournament since its founding in 1973, and is an official event on the LPGA Tour.
Stuart Appleby is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He was a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour.
England Golf is the governing body for male and female amateur golf in England. It represents over 1,900 golf clubs with over 740,000 members and is affiliated to The R&A, the joint global governing body of golf. It was formed in 2012 as a merger between the English Golf Union, the governing body for men, and the English Women's Golf Association, the equivalent body for women. England Golf is a member of Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU).
Andrew Dodt is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, Asian Tour, and PGA Tour of Australasia. He has won twice on the European Tour, in India and Thailand, both events co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour.
Golf in Australia has been played in Australia since 1839. The Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour of Australasia is the main men's tour in Australia. In women's golf, the ALPG Tour has operated since 1972.
Ashleigh Ann Buhai is a South African professional golfer who won the 2022 Women's Open, one of the major championships in women's golf.
Jiyai Shin is a former world No. 1 ranked South Korean professional golfer who primarily plays on the LPGA of Japan Tour. She previously played primarily on the LPGA Tour and the LPGA of Korea Tour (KLPGA). She has broken existing KLPGA records, winning 10 events in 19 starts on the KLPGA Tour in 2007. In 2008, playing only 10 tournaments on the LPGA Tour as a non-member, she won three events, including the Women's British Open and the ADT Championship. She has been ranked No. 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for 25 weeks and was the first Asian to be ranked No. 1. With 64 wins worldwide on six different tours, she is the winningest Korean golfer, male or female, of all time.
Lindsey Elizabeth Wright is an Australian professional golfer playing on the LPGA Tour. She earned exempt status for the 2004 LPGA season in 2003, and has been competing full-time on the Tour since.
Anna Maria Nordqvist is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour. She has won three major championships: the 2009 LPGA Championship, the 2017 Evian Championship, and the 2021 Women's British Open. She is the only non-American woman to have won major championships in three different decades.
Minjee Lee is an Australian professional golfer from Perth. She became the number one ranked amateur golfer in February 2014 after winning the Oates Victorian Open, remaining number one until turning professional in September 2014. On 25 July 2021, Lee won her first major championship, the Amundi Evian Championship. On 5 June 2022, she won her second major championship, the U.S. Women's Open.
Charley Esmee Hull is an English professional golfer who has achieved success both on the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA Tour, winning honours as Rookie of the Year, becoming the youngest competitor to participate in the international Solheim Cup matches and becoming a champion on the European circuit in 2014 before the age of 18. In 2016, she won the prestigious CME Group Tour Championship, the season-ending event of the LPGA Tour.
The Hong Kong Golf Association (HKGA) is Hong Kong's national golf association. The HKGA is primarily concerned with managing and overseeing the development of the sport of golf in Hong Kong. The HKGA provides guidance on the running of national championships, supports in the training of players, and also helps to finance a national team that represents Hong Kong in international competitions. The HKGA currently oversees 40 amateur tournaments annually, and is involved in the running of The Hong Kong Open.
The Swedish Match Play Championship is a golf tournament played since 1904, held for both men and women. It is the oldest and most traditional golf tournament in Sweden. The name SM is a Swedish abbreviation for Svenska Mästerskapet 'Swedish Championship'.
Hannah Green is an Australian professional golfer and winner of the 2019 Women's PGA Championship.
Sarah Kemp is an Australian professional golfer who has played on the LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour (LET) and ALPG Tour concurrently for most of her career. She has been runner-up at the Catalonia Ladies Masters, New Zealand Women's Open, Lalla Meryem Cup and Women's Victorian Open.