'The Top Players Should Want To Compete In Prestigious National Opens, But So Many Don't Seem Bothered. It's A Sad State Of Affairs'

'Inside The Ropes' is the chance for Golf Monthly's tour experts to share their honest opinions on the biggest subjects in the game.

The Australian Open at Royal Melbourne was always going to be a great spectacle, and the event delivered on its promise.

We had packed galleries watching some of the game's best on one of the world's greatest golf courses, and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen's dramatic final-hole victory kept us on our seats right until the end.

However, there was a substantial clash in the golfing world last week with the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Hero World Challenge taking place concurrently. The Australian Open was undoubtedly the biggest spectacle, but it did not boast the best of the three fields and also had the smallest prize fund.

So, what can be done to elevate the championship to bring it up to where many feel it should be? It should be among the greatest non-Major events of the year and feature a field full of the world's top players, not just a handful.

Rory McIlroy, the headline name Down Under, suggested changes are needed to help the event reach its potential.

"This is a golf tournament that has got so much potential and I think it showed a little bit of that this week. There's still a ways to go," he said at Royal Melbourne.

"I would love to have a few more players come down and play. But it's hard. There's three tournaments going on in the schedule this week.

"There needs to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff.

"Hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and everyone can at least have the option to come down and play."

So, what do we think? Four Golf Monthly writers have their say in this week's Inside The Ropes, and you can get involved by letting us know your view in the comment section below...

Nick Bonfield

The answer to this question seems to be a blindingly obvious one: don't schedule other events – especially ones involving some of the world's best golfers – at the same time.

If you're trying to elevate something and bring more attention to it, making it share the spotlight clearly isn't the way to go.

If it were up to me, I'd scrap the Hero World Challenge. Watching a tiny field of golfers playing for huge sums in front of two men and a dog isn't my idea of entertainment, but seeing a full field compete over one of the world's best golf courses most certainly is.

However, there are certain issues that always stop events in Australia from being as big as they should be – time difference and location.

Tournaments in Australia are basically unwatchable for those who live in Europe and America and persuading players to travel all the way Down Under after a long year is a tough ask.

You can't mandate players to compete as that sets a very dangerous precedent, so, regrettably, the only answer is increasing the prize pool significantly and/or paying more in appearance fees.

The top players should want to compete in prestigious national opens, but so many don't seem bothered. It's a sad state of affairs.

Matt Cradock

As I've alluded to previously, the national opens, in my opinion, should be elevated and almost sit one step below the four Major championships.

For me, they provide the best storylines and, as we saw at the Australian Open, an incredible finish where you didn't know who the winner was going to be until the final putt went in...

So, the question arises of how does the Australian Open become more elevated?

Well, with its position in the calendar and the time zone element, it's difficult to say unless the topic of money is brought up, which will be a driving factor in the top players competing.

Looking at the tournaments staged around it, the Nedbank Golf Challenge could be moved to the week prior or the week after, that way you have a fortnight run of strong events.

The only issue is that it coincides with other tournaments taking place, but the Aussie Open and Nedbank are two of the biggest events on the DP World Tour calendar, so I don't see why that would be a problem, especially when they could perhaps be co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour to really bring in the star power?

Sadly though, and this doesn't just apply to the Australian Open, but other national opens, the prize money has to go up if big names are to be drawn to it.

It's an unfortunate thing to say, but players won't make the lengthy journey over unless there's an incentive like an appearance fee or large purse at stake.

Personally, this seems to be the only way to elevate these tournaments.

Barry Plummer

To really give the Australian Open the stage it deserves, the DP World Tour has to do whatever it takes to get the PGA Tour onboard and make it a co-sanctioned event.

That would solve some of the previously mentioned scheduling issues, which immediately put the Australian Open on the back foot, while also adding some extra muscle to increase prize funds and encourage marquee player appearances.

Getting Rory McIlroy there is huge, but the event needs players of his stature there every year to really peak the interest and I can't see how that's achieved without a little help from the PGA Tour.

The venue is already a huge pull, but four rounds at Royal Melbourne isn't going to convince certain top players to turn down the bigger money on offer at the Hero World Challenge.

Elliott Heath

Rory McIlroy is right that work is still needed to help the Australian Open grow in stature.

There's always talk of the Australian Open gaining Major status but I don't think that's realistic.

Returning the event to separate men's and women's tournaments has helped as well as adding a Masters spot this year, while McIlroy has likely helped massively in terms of ticket sales and general interest.

The Australian Open has the history, the golf courses and the fanbase, but it misses the money and the strength of field - which go hand-in-hand.

Realistically the only way to attract a field it deserves in this day-and-age is to make it worth the trip for the big names.

The top-level golfers are so rich these days that they simply won't travel to the other side of the world just to play in a prestigious event. Sadly, as my colleagues have already noted, they need paying.

I'd be very surprised if even Rory McIlroy wasn't being paid to be there this past week.

So how much money are we talking? The PGA Tour will run nine $20m Signature Events in 2026 and all four men's Majors will be around the $20m mark, too.

So a $20m USD Australian Open would go some way to bringing the stars, and the PGA Tour co-sanctioning the event would help as well. In this landscape, though, the PGA Tour getting involved would then rule out LIV Golfers like Cameron Smith - so that seems unrealistic.

Sadly, it doesn't seem like much can be done right now.

The event will benefit from Rory McIlroy again next year around another amazing Melbourne course, Kingston Heath, but I think the Australian Open's best hope in the short-term is to find a better date where it can be the standalone tournament of the week.