The Australian Open is splitting up its men’s and women’s golf tournaments after a three-year experiment with running them together didn’t quite work out.
The decision comes after several big names in golf spoke up about problems with the combined format, which had been running since 2022.
Major winner Ian Baker-Finch didn’t mince words about it. "Both events are diminished a little bit by holding them together," he said on the Talk Birdie To Me podcast. Baker-Finch, who chairs the PGA of Australia, pointed out that the November timing just didn’t work well with the LPGA Tour schedule.
But that wasn’t the only issue.
Cameron Smith, one of Australia’s top golfers, wasn’t happy with how the courses had to be set up. The grounds needed to be kept softer than usual to work for both men’s and women’s play – something Smith called "disappointing."
He didn’t stop there. In January, Smith told Fox Sports: "It’s not how the Aussie Open should be, particularly in Melbourne."
Even LPGA Tour star Hannah Green noticed they had to make things easier, mentioning that the pin placements were more "generous" than usual to make the format work.
It’s quite a turnaround from what Golf Australia was saying before. They’d previously claimed the mixed format was making a "resoundingly positive impact."
But now they’re changing course. Golf Australia’s CEO James Sutherland announced they’re going back to separate tournaments.
"We’re proud of what we’ve achieved over the past three years," Sutherland said. He noted they’d seen record crowds and TV audiences during the experiment.
"We believe this is the right time," he added, "and we’re confident that both national open championships will stand on their own two feet and prosper in their own right."
The change means both tournaments can now be scheduled at times that work better for international players and local conditions. It’s a back-to-basics approach that might just help one of golf’s oldest tournaments get its groove back.
