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Australian Masters

The Australian Masters was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia held in Victoria, Australia from 1979 to 2015.

Australian Masters
Tournament information
LocationMelbourne, Australia
Established1979
Course(s)Huntingdale Golf Club
Par71
Length7,682 yards (7,024 m)
Organized byIMG
Tour(s)PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour
FormatStroke play
Prize fundA$750,000
Month playedNovember
Final year2015
Tournament record score
Aggregate268 Bradley Hughes (1998)
To par−24 as above
Final champion
Australia Peter Senior
Location map
Huntingdale GC is located in Australia
Huntingdale GC
Huntingdale GC
Location in Australia
Huntingdale GC is located in Victoria
Huntingdale GC
Huntingdale GC
Location in Victoria

History

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The tournament is the brainchild of schoolteacher David Inglis. The Australian Masters was intended to be, in the words of Inglis, "an unashamed copy" of the Masters Tournament, the famous tournament in the United States. The event would be played at the same course every year and a ceremonial jacket would placed on the champion. In this case, the course would be Huntingdale Golf Club.[1]

Inglis had no experience running a golf tournament and recruited Ian Stanley, a leading Australian touring professional, to give him advice. Stanley was able to secure commitments from top golfers like Graham Marsh, Lee Trevino, Bob Shearer, and Greg Norman. Prize money was originally supposed to be $50,000 but, due to an inability to find enough sponsors, a decision was made to reduce the purse to $30,000. Multiple players threatened to withdraw and a decision was made to cancel the tournament. However, at the last minute David Haines, a member at Huntingdale, was able to secure an additional $10,000 and the tournament could go on. New Zealand golfer Barry Vivian won the event by one over Shearer. The tournament lost $50,000 but managed to be profitable thereafter.[1]

In 1989 the International Management Group took control of the management of the tournament.[2]

Though the Australian Masters usually was part of the PGA Tour of Australasia's calendar, the event was not on the Order of Merit in 1992. The PGA Tour of Australasia requested that the field expand from 100 players to a full-field of 120 players. International Management Group (IMG), which ran the event, rejected the request. Frank Williams, an employee of IMG, justified the decision by stating, "The sponsors expect the Masters to be different from other Australian tournaments and it was sold to them as a limited-field special event."[2]

The tournament was co-sanctioned by the European Tour from 2006 to 2009, with a significant 20% increase in the prize fund. Because the tournament is played late in the calendar year, in November or December, it formed part of the following year's European Tour schedule from 2006 through 2008. With the European Tour's decision to realign its schedule with the calendar year for 2010, the 2009 event was the first to be part of the current calendar year's tour schedule. The co-sanctioning with the European Tour was dropped after the 2009 event.

On 18 March 2009 the Victorian State Government announced a major coup, confirming that then World Number 1 Tiger Woods would play in the 2009 event at its new venue, Kingston Heath.[3] The announcement caused a minor public backlash due to 50% of Woods' A$3 million appearance fee being paid by taxpayer funds. Woods' appearance was tipped to generate close to A$20 million for the Victorian economy via tourism and other related areas.[4]

The event is owned by IMG.[5] The event was not played in 2016 and its future is reported to be in doubt.[6]

The tournament's iconic broadcast theme music used during the 1980s and 1990s was "Send Them Victorious" by Graham De Wilde, with tournament's tagline "The Tradition Continues" in use for the duration of its existence. Greg Norman won the Masters a record six times. The final event featured 56-year-old Peter Senior as the champion. It was his third win in this event and became the first player to win the Australian Open, the Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Masters all in his fifties. Future major winner who was an amateur at the time Bryson DeChambeau finished tied in second place.[7]

Venues

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Until 2008, the Australian Masters was always held at the Huntingdale Golf Club in South Oakleigh. From 2009, a rotation system was introduced and the event was staged at different courses in the Melbourne area.[8]

The following venues have been used since the founding of the Australian Masters in 1979.

Venue Location First Last Times
Huntingdale Golf Club Victoria 1979 2015 31
Kingston Heath Golf Club Victoria 2009 2012 2
Victoria Golf Club Victoria 2010 2011 2
Royal Melbourne Golf Club Victoria 2013 2013 1
Metropolitan Golf Club Victoria 2014 2014 1

Winners

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Year Tour(s)[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up Venue Ref.
Uniqlo Masters
2015 ANZ   Peter Senior (3) 276 −8 2 strokes   Bryson DeChambeau (a)
  Andrew Evans
  John Senden		 Huntingdale
BetEasy Masters
2014 ANZ   Nick Cullen 279 −9 1 stroke   James Nitties
  Adam Scott
  Josh Younger		 Metropolitan
Talisker Masters
2013 ANZ   Adam Scott (2) 270 −14 2 strokes   Matt Kuchar Royal Melbourne
2012 ANZ   Adam Scott 271 −17 4 strokes   Ian Poulter Kingston Heath
JBWere Masters
2011 ANZ   Ian Poulter 269 −15 3 strokes   Marcus Fraser Victoria
2010 ANZ   Stuart Appleby 274 −10 1 stroke   Adam Bland Victoria
2009 ANZ, EUR   Tiger Woods 274 −14 2 strokes   Greg Chalmers Kingston Heath
Sportsbet Australian Masters
2008 ANZ, EUR   Rod Pampling 276 −12 Playoff   Marcus Fraser Huntingdale
Mastercard Masters
2007 ANZ, EUR   Aaron Baddeley 275 −13 Playoff   Daniel Chopra Huntingdale
2006 ANZ, EUR   Justin Rose 276 −12 2 strokes   Greg Chalmers
  Richard Green		 Huntingdale
2005 ANZ   Robert Allenby (2) 271 −17 Playoff   Bubba Watson Huntingdale
2004 ANZ   Richard Green 271 −17 Playoff   Greg Chalmers
  David McKenzie		 Huntingdale
2003 ANZ   Robert Allenby 277 −11 Playoff   Jarrod Moseley
  Craig Parry
  Adam Scott		 Huntingdale
2002 ANZ   Peter Lonard (2) 279 −9 Playoff   Gavin Coles
  Adam Scott		 Huntingdale
Ericsson Masters
2001 ANZ   Colin Montgomerie 278 −10 1 stroke   Nathan Green Huntingdale
2000 ANZ   Michael Campbell 282 −10 4 strokes   Brett Rumford Huntingdale
1999 ANZ   Craig Spence 276 −16 1 stroke   Greg Norman Huntingdale
1998 ANZ   Bradley Hughes (2) 268 −24 5 strokes   Mathew Goggin Huntingdale
1997 ANZ   Peter Lonard 276 −16 Playoff   Peter O'Malley Huntingdale
1996 ANZ   Craig Parry (3) 279 −13 2 strokes   Bradley Hughes Huntingdale
Australian Masters
1995 ANZ   Peter Senior (2) 280 −12 1 stroke   Wayne Grady
  Lucas Parsons
  Tom Watson		 Huntingdale
Microsoft Australian Masters
1994 ANZ   Craig Parry (2) 282 −10 3 strokes   Ernie Els Huntingdale
1993 ANZ   Bradley Hughes 281 −11 Playoff   Peter Senior Huntingdale
Pyramid Australian Masters
1992   Craig Parry 283 −9 3 strokes   Greg Norman Huntingdale
1991 ANZ   Peter Senior 278 −14 1 stroke   Greg Norman Huntingdale
Australian Masters
1990 ANZ   Greg Norman (6) 273 −19 2 strokes   Mike Clayton
  Nick Faldo
  John Morse		 Huntingdale
1989 ANZ   Greg Norman (5) 280 −12 5 strokes   Russell Claydon (a) Huntingdale [9]
1988 ANZ   Ian Baker-Finch 283 −9 Playoff   Roger Mackay
  Craig Parry		 Huntingdale [10]
1987 ANZ   Greg Norman (4) 273 −19 9 strokes   Peter Senior Huntingdale
1986 ANZ   Mark O'Meara 284 −8 1 stroke   David Graham Huntingdale [11]
1985 ANZ   Bernhard Langer 281 −11 3 strokes   Nick Faldo
  Greg Norman		 Huntingdale
1984 ANZ   Greg Norman (3) 285 −7 3 strokes   David Graham
  Bernhard Langer		 Huntingdale [12]
1983 ANZ   Greg Norman (2) 285 −7 4 strokes   Bernhard Langer Huntingdale [13]
1982 ANZ   Graham Marsh 289 −3 1 stroke   Stewart Ginn Huntingdale [14]
1981 ANZ   Greg Norman 289 −3 7 strokes   Terry Gale
  Norio Suzuki		 Huntingdale [15]
1980 ANZ   Gene Littler 288 −4 Playoff   Rodger Davis Huntingdale [16]
1979 ANZ   Barry Vivian 289 −3 1 stroke   Bob Shearer Huntingdale [17]

Sources:[18][19]

Notes

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  1. ^ ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; EUR − European Tour.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Foresight: How the Masters was born". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Two Australians lead low-scoring field". Canberra Times. 17 January 1992. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. ^ Linden, Julian (19 March 2009). "Woods to play in Australia for first time in over a decade". Reuters. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  4. ^ "Tiger Woods comes to Melbourne, costing taxpayers $1.5m". Herald Sun. 19 March 2009. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
  5. ^ Connolly, Eoin (6 April 2010). "IMG ties JBWere to Australian Masters extension". SportsPro.
  6. ^ Gould, Russell (30 March 2016). "Australian Masters 2016 called off and the future of the event remains unclear". Herald Sun.
  7. ^ "Peter Senior wins third Australian Masters title, Adam Scott falls short at Huntingdale". ABC News. 22 November 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Huntingdale's hold on Australian Masters at an end". The Australian. 23 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2008.
  9. ^ "Sports results and details". The Canberra Times. 20 February 1989. p. 21. Retrieved 23 September 2021 – via Trove.
  10. ^ "Baker-Finch wins". The Canberra Times. 22 February 1988. p. 1. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "O'Meara soars with eagles to clinch Masters victory". The Canberra Times. 24 February 1986. p. 22. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  12. ^ "Second title in row Masters to Norman by three". The Canberra Times. 20 February 1984. p. 16. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  13. ^ "Norman wins a second Masters". The Canberra Times. 21 February 1983. p. 22. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  14. ^ "Masters Golf: Marsh—by a stroke". The Canberra Times. 22 February 1982. p. 16. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  15. ^ "Australian Masters: Norman beats 'hoodoo'". The Canberra Times. 2 March 1981. p. 16. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  16. ^ "Masters to Littler after sudden-death play-off". The Canberra Times. 3 March 1980. p. 16. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  17. ^ "Vivian wins Masters title despite poor final round". The Canberra Times. 5 March 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 27 October 2020 – via Trove.
  18. ^ "The Australian Masters". users.tpg.com.au. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Tournament Results: Australian Masters". where2golf.com.
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37°55′S 145°06′E / 37.92°S 145.10°E / -37.92; 145.10

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