Rory McIlroy: Australia Has Been 'Starved' Of Top-Level Golf

Rory McIlroy says Australia has been "starved" of top-level golf ahead of his bid for a second Stonehaven Cup this week at Royal Melbourne.

The Masters champion is the headline name in the Sandbelt after committing to this year's Australian Open and 2026's championship at Kingston Heath.

McIlroy gets his tournament underway on Thursday alongside Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee but before the action starts he spoke to the media, where he touched on Australian golf, his 2013 victory Down Under and what he thinks of the golf course this week.

"It hasn't been a secret that I've wanted to come back. The change in the format, going back to the traditional Australian Open, has probably helped," McIlroy said, alluding to the championship returning to individual men's and women's events after a spell of the tournament being mixed.

"It just feels like this country is starved of top-level golf.

"Obviously, you've had Presidents Cups come down here and you've had a lot of good players still come through, but maybe just not on a consistent basis.

"And I think a market like this, with amazing fans and the history that it does have, probably deserves more of a consistency of big players and big tournaments.

"Australia has been a very big part of my golfing life and my golfing journey, going all the way back to playing the Australian Open as an amateur back in 2005 and 2006.

"I just think the quality of the golf down here, the quality of the players that have come from here.

"You look at an event like LIV in Adelaide and the people that come out to that event and how excited they are that some of the top players in the world are down here playing, it just feels like this country is starved of top-level golf.

"A market like this with amazing fans and the history that it does have probably deserves more of a consistency of big players and big tournaments.

"This tournament in particular because of the history, because of the tradition, deserves to be a standalone tournament, a week on its own, and hopefully one day they could put together a schedule where the biggest and best tournaments in the world and the oldest and the ones with the most heritage can be elevated."

McIlroy is seeking his second Australian Open victory this week after winning in 2013, when he beat Adam Scott by a single stroke at Royal Sydney Golf Club.

It was a significant victory for him as it marked an upturn in his fortunes following a difficult year with his new Nike equipment.

"I think about that tournament a lot and about what it meant," he told media on Wednesday in Melbourne.

"I felt at that point in my career, I was at a bit of a crossroads.

"In 2013 I'd really struggled and I really do think that that win at the end of the year was a catalyst for what happened in 2014, which I'd say, up there with 2025, are the best two years of my career."

He makes his first appearance Down Under since 2014 and this will be his first Australian Open outside of Sydney. He is playing the world famous Royal Melbourne for the first time this week and hinted that he rates fellow Melbourne giant Kingston Heath as the best in the city.

“I don’t want the membership to take this badly but it’s probably not the best course in Melbourne,” he said.

“I didn’t anticipate how many blind tee shots there was going to be, and it takes a little bit to figure out. It’s certainly not straightforward.

"I think as well, it probably plays better in the southerly wind rather than a northerly wind. It’s probably not a fair reflection on the golf course playing it in this wind.

"It would be good to play it in a few other directions, but it's obviously an amazing golf course and I can't wait to get out there and compete on it this week."

He has already had arguably the greatest year of his career and has previously spoken about winning at some of golf's 'cathedrals', meaning the game's most important and historic venues.

He has ticked off Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass (for the second time) and Augusta National already this year, and Royal Melbourne would be another special one to add to his resume.

"I've talked about trying to win at some of the most important venues in golf - this week is one of them," he said.

"You think about the tournaments and the people that have won at Royal Melbourne and how highly regarded it is within the golf world.

"I was lucky enough to win at Pebble Beach this year for the first time, obviously at Augusta. I'd love to win at St. Andrews one day. I'd love to win a US Open at Pebble Beach.

"There's a few venues in our game that maybe just mean a bit more than some of the others and that's something that I would love to do one day."