MCILROY READY FOR SAND BELT TEST DOWN UNDER
Rory McIlroy during The Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland earlier this year. (Photo: R&A/Getty)
Rory McIlroy will end an unforgettable Grand Slam winning year with a festive trip Down Under for the season-ending Crown Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.
McIlroy unlocked the key to his Grand Slam destiny after winning the Master in April after his 17th attempt to don the famous Green Jacket. In doing so he became just the sixth player in history to complete the Grand Slam feat and the first since Tiger Woods in 2000.
The Northern Ireland legend went on to win the Amgen Irish Open at Thew K Club to send the home crowds crazy with his grandstand eagle finish to for a play-off where he went on to deny Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren in sudden death.
The 2025 season also delivered wins at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and THE PLAYERS Championship on the PGA Tour, while he was recently crowned European number one in Dubai to receive the Harry Vardon Trophy for the seventh time.
A year like no other and after completing the Grand Slam, it’s as if McIlroy can play with even greater freedom after etching his name forever into the history books.
Just now the five-time Major winner makes the first of a two-year commitment to play at the Crown Australian Open on the Melbourne Sand belt. The last time the 36-year-old appeared at the national open was in 2014, the year after he beat home favourite Adam Scott by one stroke to win the Stonehaven Cup.
When play gets underway on Thursday, McIlroy will tee it up with former Masters champion Scott and Min Woo Lee to be flanked by two home favourite Australians, which is sure to make for great viewing.
The event itself moves away from its previous combined event, where the women's edition and Australian All Abilities Championship shared the stage with the men's national open.
McIlroy may be the headline name, but there are plenty of other draw cards for the home crowds. Among those are Major champions like Scott, Cameron Smith and Geoff Ogilvy. Lee will also draw plenty of home support, while fellow Antipodeans Ryan Fox, Daniel Hillier and Kazuma Kobori will be out to impress.
After a 20-year absence, this week sees golf's global Tour return to the renowned Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the fifth time. It previously staged the Heineken Classic for four consecutive years between 2002-2005. This is the 17th time the men's Crown Australian Open - co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR of Australasia since 2022 - has been held at the venue and the first since 1991.
Players will compete over the Composite Course. Royal Melbourne was most recently under the international golf microscope when it hosted the Presidents Cup in 2019.
Following new exemption criteria announced earlier this year by Augusta National and in an attempt to align with The R&A, the Australian Open is one of six national opens where the winner will be awarded a spot at the Masters in 2026. The tournament is also part of The Open Qualifying Series (OQS), with the top three finishers not already exempt securing a spot in The Open at Royal Birkdale next summer.