By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian Open winners Ryggs Johnston and Shin Jiyai hoisted their men’s and women’s trophies alongside each other in front of healthy crowds at Melbourne’s Kingston Heath on Sunday, but the future of the dual gender event remains up in the air.
The mixed format, introduced in 2022 to reboot the local tour after it was shut down by COVID-19, has long had its detractors who say it diminishes the standing of both the men’s and women’s national Opens, which were previously standalone events.
The criticism continued in Melbourne’s sandbelt this week, with men’s headliner Cameron Smith accusing officials of watering down the usually hard and fast sandbelt course despite rainy weather that contributed to soft and slow conditions.
Australian major winner Hannah Green said the course setup had “generous” pin placements to make sure all players could get their rounds.
“I do think if the men played at this course, the pins would be much more tucked,” Green told reporters.
Australia’s first Masters winner Adam Scott, long one of the nation’s biggest supporters of the local tour, elected to skip the tournament this year, and pundits fear other top players like Smith may do the same in future.
Australian golf officials are undecided about the scheduling in 2025 or the format but are not convinced separating the men’s and women’s events is the right way forward.
“It’s no secret that some of our leading men’s players don’t like the format, but they like the date,” Golf Australia boss James Sutherland told reporters on Sunday.
“And on the flip-side, some of our leading female players don’t like the date, but like the format.
“And so the simple answer to that is to separate the two events at different times … but it’s not quite that easy.”
The scheduling, straight after the season-ending LPGA event in Florida wrapped up on the previous Sunday, was a major issue for a number of the women’s entrants, including major winners Minjee Lee and Green, who arrived jetlagged.
Bad weather on Wednesday meant many of the players were unable to get a practice round in before the event started.
The Australasian women’s tour (WPGA) was hugely grateful the top players had made the trip and can only hope they will continue to stay loyal.
With the women’s Australian Open having lost its place on the LPGA calendar during COVID, there is no guarantee the tournament will return to the global circuit in coming years.
WPGA boss Karen Lunn said the mixed format was good for the women’s game, exposing the talent to fans who might not see them otherwise.
“James (Sutherland) mentioned that the date is tricky for the girls. But they love the format,” she said.
“There’s a lot of fans here that, three years ago, would only have gone to a men’s tournament. But now they’re probably fans of the women’s game as well.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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