Rory McIlroy set to return to iconic event for | Sports News

Rory McIlroy is planning a return to the Australian Open for the primary time in more than 10 years, indicating his want to spend much less time on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy, who clinched victory on the Australian Open at Royal Sydney in 2013, hasn’t participated within the match since 2014. However, the Masters champion – having clinched his maiden Green Jacket at Augusta National final month – has expressed his affection for the Australian Open and his want for it to regain its earlier standing.

In its prime, the world’s high gamers would yearly fly down beneath for the match, usually referred to as “the fifth major,” with legends like Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Greg Norman amongst these whose names are etched on the Stonehaven Cup. As the status of the Australian Open has diminished, LIV Golf has capitalized by internet hosting a extremely common match in Adelaide.

The prize money of $1.1 million on the PGA Tour of Australasia-sanctioned event is considerably decrease than even the smallest PGA Tour tournaments, the place $4 million is often up for grabs.

However, McIlroy has made it clear that money is just not his important concern at this level in his profession, having skipped two $20 million signature occasions on the PGA Tour this yr. According to former Aussie professional Mark Allen, the 36-year-old is probably going to be half of the lineup in Australia later this yr.

“As we speak here right now, it’s going to happen,” Allen revealed on the ‘Talk Birdie To Me’ Podcast. “But we all know in the sporting world that things can change.”

During a 2023 chat with Golf Digest, Rory McIlroy expressed his aspirations for globalizing the PGA Tour, highlighting the Australian Open as a key event. He commented: “The Australian Open, for example, should almost be the fifth major. The market down there is huge with potential. They love golf. They love sport.

“They have been starved of top-level golf. And the programs are so good. Revenues on the PGA Tour proper now are about $2.3 billion. So how will we get that quantity up to $4 billion or $6 billion? It is by trying outward. They need to suppose internationally and unfold their wings a bit.

“My dream scenario is a world tour, with the proviso that corporate America has to remain a big part of it all. But there is an untapped commercial opportunity out there.”

Details relating to the date and venue for the esteemed match, usually going down between late November and early December, are nonetheless pending. Royal Melbourne Golf Club is at present tipped because the probably candidate for the venue, acknowledged globally as being among the many elite programs.

While the earlier three editions of the Australian Open featured concurrent males’s and ladies’s competitions on the identical course, this yr’s event will return to the standard solo format.

“Golf Australia continues to work through the future of the men’s and women’s Australian Opens, with nothing formal to confirm at this point in time,” a spokesman stated. “We look forward to working with our partners to confirm and announce the future of both events in the coming weeks.”