ISPS Handa Australian Open

The 2023 champions lead strong fields at this popular national event. Mike Green

No woman has ever won the ISPS Handa Australian Open three times in a row, but when Ashleigh Buhai returns to the scene of her 2022 triumph at Kingston Heath Golf Club and Victory Golf Club on 28 November, she will set out to be the first.

If Buhai wins one of her favourite tournaments, she will surpass some illustrious names: Australian Karrie Webb won it five times, including in 2007 and 2008; Dame Laura Davies of England won it twice, in 2004 and 2009, with Webb breaking her streak (the event wasn’t played in 2005-06). And in 2010 and 2011, Taiwan’s brilliant Yani Tseng won it twice in a row.

Buhai’s 2022 win in Australia was part of a golden treble, after she took her first Major championship title with her win at the AIG Women’s Open in August 2022, the ISPS Handa Australian Women’s Open in December 2022 and the Investec South African Women’s Open in March 2023. She’s the only woman to have held those three titles at the same time.

Buhai denied Minjee Lee an elusive maiden national championship in 2023 with a tension-filled one-stroke triumph over the popular homeground pre-tournament favourite at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. Despite being as many as four shots in front down the stretch, Buhai’s victory was anything but comfortable. Incredibly, the champion couldn’t find a single birdie in the round, while Lee rolled in eight.

Buhai showed fortitude in the extreme on the final day, from the time she snap-hooked her opening tee shot into a spectator’s beer cup down the left side of the fairway. She never looked entirely comfortable and the birdies would not come. Twelve straight pars were followed by a bogey from off the front of the 13th, and she threw in two more dropped shots coming home. “I said to my caddie, ‘I know Minjee’s going to come, but she has to chase. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. That’s all I can control,’” said Buhai after her victory.

ABOUT THE COURSES

Kingston Heath is arguably the premier course in Australian golf, and perhaps even one of the best in the world. It is located in the famous sand belt regional of Melbourne, Austalia and was designed by Dan Soutar in 1925, with the famed Alister MacKenzie also brought in to offer bunker advice and guidance. In the view of many, he created the best natural bunkering you would wish to encounter. The course records are held by Mark Brown at 10-under 62, set during round two of The Open IFQ in 2013, and by Karrie Webb and Jiyai Shin at six-under 67, both recorded during the final round of the 2008 Australian Open.

Victoria Golf Club was founded in 1903 and relocated from its original Fisherman’s Bend site in 1926 to its current position in bayside Cheltenham in Melbourne. Like Kingston Heath, Victoria GC gave architect MacKenzie the perfect opportunity to add the finishing touches to a layout of outstanding quality. Club curator Frank Lennox built the initial aspects of the course, of which MacKenzie commented, “Little more is required to make this a magnificent golf course.” The course records are held by Jonathon Wade, Geoff Ogilvy and Ryan Ruffels at nine-under-par 63, and by Alison Whitaker at seven-under 67.

LAST 10 WINNERS

WOMEN

• 2023 Ashleigh Buhai (RSA)

• 2022 Ashleigh Buhai (RSA)

• 2021 Not played

• 2020 Inbee Park (KOR)

• 2019 Nelly Korda (USA)

• 2018 Jin Young Ko (KOR)

• 2017 Ha Na Jang (KOR)

• 2016 Haru Nomura (JPN)

• 2015 Lydia Ko (NZL)

• 2014 Karrie Webb (QLD)

• 2013 Jiyai Shin (KOR)

• 2012 Jessica Korda (USA)

MEN

• 2023 Joaquin Niemann (CHL)

• 2022 Adrian Meronk (POL)

• 2021 Not played

• 2020 Not played

• 2019 Matt Jones (NSW)

• 2018 Abraham Ancer (MEX)

• 2017 Cameron Davis (NSW)

• 2016 Jordan Spieth (USA)

• 2015 Matt Jones (NSW)

• 2014 Jordan Spieth (USA)

• 2013 Rory McIlroy (NIR)

• 2012 Peter Senior (QLD)

Gallery below

Despite the women’s title going to Buhai and the men’s title to Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, the Australian fans showed their appreciation of great sport in emphatic fashion – 58 000 fans came through the gates during the championship, with more than 18 000 in the house during the drama-filled final round. In addition to the excitement of Lee trying to chase down Buhai, fans got to see Niemann defeat Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino with an eagle on the second playoff hole, with Lee’s brother Min Woo Lee finishing third to give Australians plenty to cheer.

The men’s title has been won by South Africans on nine occasions. Seven of those were by Gary Player (1958 and then again in 1962, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970 and 1974). Bobby Locke won it in 1955 and Tim Clark took the honours in 2008.

The ISPS Handa Australian Open brings three separate competitions together, with the men’s and women’s Australian Opens and the Australian All Abilities Championship (AAAC) being contested at the same time. The field of 156 men and 84 women compete for prize money of AU$3 400 000 and they earn the equivalent figure per finishing position.

The men’s and women’s tournaments are sanctioned by the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the WPGA Tour of Australasia and the DP World Tour. In the 2024 edition, the first two rounds will be played on Kingston Heath Golf Club and Victoria Golf Club, for one round each. After the cut, the final two rounds will be played on Kingston Heath. The three-round All Abilities Championship will be contested at The Australian.

This year’s tournament also marks the 120th anniversary of the first men’s event played and the 50th anniversary of the first women’s tournament held at Victoria.