Cleary: Is it time for the men’s and women’s Australian Opens to stand alone?

If ever a dozen or 20 or 50 – a mighty army of 500! – Australian touring golf professionals, men and women, headed off on a camping trip together – as could totally happen – and enjoyed a few tinnies around a campfire, conversation would inevitably turn to the concurrent running of the Australian Open and the Australian Women’s Open.

And without fear that their opinions could become public and thus potentially muddied and misconstrued in the sauna of social media, the feeling among the majority of those happy campers would be that the format, in place since 2016, has run its course.

That there must be another way. That the Australian Open and the Australian Women’s Open should be standalone tournaments. Men one week, women the other.

And, yet, perhaps for fear for being labelled ill-mannered, unpolitic, sexist, elitist, left-wing, right-wing, chicken wing – there’s a long list in these vexed times of respecting everybody’s feels – it’s pretty much only gnarly old Scott Hend who’s said anything publicly critical.

And even then he had to clarify that he wasn’t a “sexist elitist” but rather that “the Australian Open is such a prestigious event, the women and the men deserve their own week for the event.”

That was two years ago. And few have poked their heads above the parapets since.  

Our man John Huggan has a story in the December issue of our crackerjack journal (on shelves November 14, subscribe here, give the gift of Christmas, you know what to do) in which he interviews a claque of pros who take issue with the format.

There are, of course, pros and cons in equal measure. And you can hold two opposing views. It is allowed.

Last year at The Lakes I walked nine holes with my mate, Will Swanton, a cracking writer for The Australian newspaper, and we discussed the format, and changed each other’s opinion several times.

Yes, we would like to see a fortnight of golf and that there be two national golf open championshipos, men’s and women’s, each with their own time in the sun.

But were we not there at The Lakes and The Australian, and watching two tournaments in one day? We could see the best men and the best women.

We sat around the par-3 18th green and watched Cam Smith and Min Woo Lee come through followed by Minjee Lee. Over at the Oz was Adam Scott and Hannah Green. 

Issue for the girls, if they go to their own way to a standalone tournament, is marketability – and thus sustainability – of the Australian Women’s Open.

While women’s cricket, rugby league and Australian rules is blossoming, and the Matildas can fill the MCG, fact is a women’s golf tournament, even the Australian Open, remains a hard sell to Big TV and sponsors by simple dint of the paucity of eyeballs upon it.

Minjee Lee stripes one at The Lakes in last year’s Australian Women’s Open. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Put them in among the boys, however, as they did last year at The Lakes and The Australian, and Golf Australia will proudly trumpet that crowds and TV ratings were up for the entire show.

Hard to argue with the numbers. It means eyeballs on women’s golf, which can only be a good thing. Young boys and girls are seeing men and women doing their thing.

Men, too, are seeing it. For as every chopper with a handicap knows, it’s far more instructive watching a lady pro stripe a six-iron or waft wedge from a greenside trap than to stand behind a 21-year-old dude with Wyatt Earp’s moustache who’s smashing driver further away than you can see, exhillarating as that is. 

A strong point is this: are we getting the best Australian Open fields? There’s only so much room on the golf , and so many daylight hours, you can only fit so many people on. It means reduced fields.

A couple of years ago there was a 54-hole cut. I don’t have the exact number at hand of those people who thought that was a good idea. But it was roughly 11. Particularly after it cut Cam Smith.

The Australian Open(s), for mine – and it’s where I ended after wandering the Lakes with Wilbur – should continue to run concurrently. Let’s ride out the Great Experiment, and keep the All Abilitiies guys in there too, and make it all better.

But I’ve changed my mind again since, even during the penning of this gibber-jabber. For surely the the men’s and women’s champion should have their own time in the sun, the media, the airwaves.

Cameron Smith in the last round of the 2023 Australian Open at The Australian GC. The year before he was cut after 54 holes. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Also: men and women should have full fields contesting their national championships over 72 holes of stroke play with a halfway cut.

Yes, it’s one of those logistical nightmares. But the governing bodies get the big bucks to stage-manage this stuff. Just do it. Bite off a lot and chew like Lecter.

Here’s an idea: play it over three courses. Even four courses.

As this erudite and promising young sportswriter put it last week, hold the Australian Open over 36 holes at Royal Melbourne, and take your pick of the Sandbelt or Mornington or Bellarine Peninsula beauties as third or fourth, ‘complementary’ courses.

Play RM East, West and Composite, Kingston Heath, Moonah and the Old Course down The National.

And do that year, while taking the PGA Championship around Australia and pumping the tyres of the state Opens and PGAs, as the good burghers of the PGA and Golf Australia are doing as we speak with their Challenger-sponsored 18-tournament golf season that’s attracted some high-profile Rippers.

Maybe make all the State opens and PGAs men and women. I’m free-wheeling here. Spit-balling. Making it up on the fly. I’ve dinkum changed my mind on the point of this column five times. 

Point remains: the current format is on the nose.  

But then it’s probably all moot given said types at ISPS Handa, whatever that is, the titular sponsors of the whole shebang, want the Australian Opens to run concurrently. And Big TV is better with that, too.

And as the biggest stakeholders they carry the biggest megaphones. 

Especially now that Hendy’s brushed Twitter.