Australian Masters
Encyclopedia
The Australian Masters, currently known as the JBWere Masters for sponsorship reasons, is an annual golf
tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia
. The tournament was founded in 1979, and was co-sanctioned by the European Tour
for the first time in 2006, with a significant 20% increase in the prize fund. Because the tournament is played late in the calendar year, in November or December, it formed part of the following year's European Tour schedule from 2006 through 2008. With the European Tour's decision to realign its schedule with the calendar year for 2010, the 2009 event was the first to be part of the current calendar year's tour schedule. The co-sanctioning with the European Tour was dropped after the 2009 event.
Until 2008, the Australian Masters was always held at the Huntingdale Golf Club
in South Oakleigh
, Victoria, Australia
, but from 2009, a rotation system will be introduced and the event will be staged at different courses in the Melbourne
area.
Home golfers have dominated the event, with former world number one
Greg Norman
unsurprisingly having the most success, winning the Gold Jacket on six occasions. Overseas players to have taken the title include European Ryder Cup
stars, Bernhard Langer
and Colin Montgomerie
.
On 18 March 2009 the Victorian State Government announced a major coup, confirming that then World Number 1
Tiger Woods
would play in the 2009 event at its new venue, Kingston Heath
. The announcement caused a minor public backlash due to 50% of Woods' A$3 million appearance fee being paid by taxpayer funds. Woods' appearance was tipped to generate close to A$20 million for the Victorian economy via tourism and other related areas.
The 2010 event was held at Victoria Golf Club on the 11–14 November.
As a European Tour co-sanctioned event
Years in brackets show the European Tour season the event fell into.
Prior to European Tour co-sanctioning
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia
PGA Tour of Australasia
The PGA Tour of Australasia is a professional golf tour for men. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ranking points. The tour was formed in 1973 as the PGA Tour of Australia and adopted its current name in 1991....
. The tournament was founded in 1979, and was co-sanctioned by the European Tour
PGA European Tour
The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
for the first time in 2006, with a significant 20% increase in the prize fund. Because the tournament is played late in the calendar year, in November or December, it formed part of the following year's European Tour schedule from 2006 through 2008. With the European Tour's decision to realign its schedule with the calendar year for 2010, the 2009 event was the first to be part of the current calendar year's tour schedule. The co-sanctioning with the European Tour was dropped after the 2009 event.
Until 2008, the Australian Masters was always held at the Huntingdale Golf Club
Huntingdale Golf Club
Huntingdale Golf Club is a golf club located in South Oakleigh, Melbourne, Australia.The origins of what would become Huntingdale Golf Club began in 1924, when a Committee leased some property in Doncaster Road, Doncaster and laid out an 18 hole course amid the surrounding orchards...
in South Oakleigh
Oakleigh South, Victoria
Oakleigh South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Monash and the City of Kingston...
, Victoria, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, but from 2009, a rotation system will be introduced and the event will be staged at different courses in the Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
area.
Home golfers have dominated the event, with former world number one
Official World Golf Rankings
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers...
Greg Norman
Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s...
unsurprisingly having the most success, winning the Gold Jacket on six occasions. Overseas players to have taken the title include European Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
stars, Bernhard Langer
Bernhard Langer
Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...
and Colin Montgomerie
Colin Montgomerie
Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer, often referred to by one of his nicknames 'Monty'. He has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won a record eight Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999, and 31...
.
On 18 March 2009 the Victorian State Government announced a major coup, confirming that then World Number 1
Official World Golf Rankings
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of male professional golfers...
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
would play in the 2009 event at its new venue, Kingston Heath
Kingston Heath Golf Club
Kingston Heath Golf Club is one of the premier golf clubs in Australia located in the world-renowned sandbelt region in the south east suburbs of Melbourne....
. The announcement caused a minor public backlash due to 50% of Woods' A$3 million appearance fee being paid by taxpayer funds. Woods' appearance was tipped to generate close to A$20 million for the Victorian economy via tourism and other related areas.
The 2010 event was held at Victoria Golf Club on the 11–14 November.
Winners
As a sole-sanctioned event| Year | Winner | Score | Course |
|---|---|---|---|
| JBWere Masters | |||
| 2010 |  Stuart ApplebyStuart Appleby Stuart Appleby is an Australian professional golfer.-Early life:Appleby was born in Cohuna in rural northern Victoria, and grew up on a nearby dairy farm. He began in golf by hitting balls from paddock to paddock after his farm chores were completed... |
274 (-10) | Victoria Golf Club |
As a European Tour co-sanctioned event
| Year | Winner | Score | Course |
|---|---|---|---|
| JBWere Masters | |||
| 2009 (2009) |  Tiger WoodsTiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No... |
274 (-14) | Kingston Heath GC Kingston Heath Golf Club Kingston Heath Golf Club is one of the premier golf clubs in Australia located in the world-renowned sandbelt region in the south east suburbs of Melbourne.... |
| Sportsbet Australian Masters | |||
| 2008 (2009) | Rod Pampling Rod Pampling -Golf career:Pampling was born in Redcliffe in Queensland. He turned professional in 1994. He began tournament golf career on the PGA Tour of Australasia, where he won the 1999 Canon Challenge, and also spent time on the NGA Hooters Tour, a developmental tour in the United States... |
276 (-12)PO | Huntingdale GC Huntingdale Golf Club Huntingdale Golf Club is a golf club located in South Oakleigh, Melbourne, Australia.The origins of what would become Huntingdale Golf Club began in 1924, when a Committee leased some property in Doncaster Road, Doncaster and laid out an 18 hole course amid the surrounding orchards... |
| MasterCard Masters | |||
| 2007 (2008) | Aaron Baddeley Aaron Baddeley Aaron John Baddeley is an American-Australian professional golfer. He was born in Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA and now plays on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, has joint U.S. and Australian citizenship and was raised in Australia from the age of two... |
275 (-13)PO | Huntingdale GC |
| 2006 (2007) |  Justin RoseJustin Rose Justin Peter Rose is a South African-born English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour while keeping his membership on the European Tour... |
276 (-12) | Huntingdale GC |
Years in brackets show the European Tour season the event fell into.
Prior to European Tour co-sanctioning
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| MasterCard Masters | ||
| 2005 | Robert Allenby Robert Allenby Robert Allenby is an Australian professional golfer.Allenby was born in Melbourne, Australia. His father was from Leeds, England and emigrated to Australia as a young man.-Professional career:... |
271 (-17)PO |
| 2004 | Richard Green Richard Green (golfer) Richard George Green is an Australian professional golfer.Green was born in Williamstown, Melbourne, Victoria. He turned professional in 1992, and joined the PGA Tour of Australasia the same year.... |
271 (-17)PO |
| 2003 | Robert Allenby Robert Allenby Robert Allenby is an Australian professional golfer.Allenby was born in Melbourne, Australia. His father was from Leeds, England and emigrated to Australia as a young man.-Professional career:... |
277 (-11)PO |
| 2002 | Peter Lonard Peter Lonard Peter Lawrence Lonard is an Australian professional golfer who plays mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour. He credits fellow Australian Greg Norman as his inspiration.... |
279 (-9)PO |
| Ericsson Masters | ||
| 2001 |  Colin MontgomerieColin Montgomerie Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer, often referred to by one of his nicknames 'Monty'. He has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won a record eight Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999, and 31... |
278 (-10) |
| 2000 |  Michael CampbellMichael Campbell Michael Shane Campbell, CNZM is a New Zealand golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the same year. He is a member of the European Tour.Ethnically, he is predominantly Māori, from the Ngati... |
282 (-10) |
| 1999 | Craig Spence Craig Spence (golfer) Craig A. Spence is an Australian professional golfer.Spence was born in Colac, Victoria and first played golf at the age of 10. Around the age of 15 he began competing at an amateur level. He then went on to the Victorian Institute of Sport, winning two Victorian Amateurs back to back... |
276 (-16) |
| 1998 | Bradley Hughes Bradley Hughes (golfer) Bradley Hughes is an Australian professional golfer.Hughes was born in Melbourne. He turned pro in 1988. He has played on the PGA Tour of Australasia , European Tour , Japan Golf Tour , PGA Tour and Nationwide Tours . He has won five times in Australia and once in the United States... |
268 (-24) |
| 1997 | Peter Lonard Peter Lonard Peter Lawrence Lonard is an Australian professional golfer who plays mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour. He credits fellow Australian Greg Norman as his inspiration.... |
276 (-16) |
| 1996 | Craig Parry Craig Parry Craig David Parry is an Australian professional golfer. He has been one of Australia's premier golfers since turning professional in 1985, and has 23 career victories, two of those wins being events on the PGA Tour; the 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational and the 2004 Ford Championship at Doral.Parry was... |
279 (-13) |
| Australian Masters | ||
| 1995 | Peter Senior Peter Senior Peter Albert Charles Senior is an Australian professional golfer who has won more than twenty tournaments around the world.... |
280 |
| 1994 | Craig Parry Craig Parry Craig David Parry is an Australian professional golfer. He has been one of Australia's premier golfers since turning professional in 1985, and has 23 career victories, two of those wins being events on the PGA Tour; the 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational and the 2004 Ford Championship at Doral.Parry was... |
282 |
| 1993 | Bradley Hughes Bradley Hughes (golfer) Bradley Hughes is an Australian professional golfer.Hughes was born in Melbourne. He turned pro in 1988. He has played on the PGA Tour of Australasia , European Tour , Japan Golf Tour , PGA Tour and Nationwide Tours . He has won five times in Australia and once in the United States... |
281 |
| 1992 | Craig Parry Craig Parry Craig David Parry is an Australian professional golfer. He has been one of Australia's premier golfers since turning professional in 1985, and has 23 career victories, two of those wins being events on the PGA Tour; the 2002 WGC-NEC Invitational and the 2004 Ford Championship at Doral.Parry was... |
283 |
| 1991 | Peter Senior Peter Senior Peter Albert Charles Senior is an Australian professional golfer who has won more than twenty tournaments around the world.... |
278 |
| 1990 | Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s... |
273 |
| 1989 | Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s... |
280 |
| 1988 | Ian Baker-Finch Ian Baker-Finch Ian Michael Baker-Finch is an Australian professional golfer, who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1991.-Early years:... |
278 |
| 1987 | Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s... |
273 |
| 1986 | Mark O'Meara Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara is an American professional golfer who was a prolific tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s... |
284 |
| 1985 |  Bernhard LangerBernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986... |
281 |
| 1984 | Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s... |
285 |
| 1983 | Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s... |
285 |
| 1982 | Graham Marsh Graham Marsh Graham Vivian Marsh MBE was one of the leading Australian professional golfers of his generation.-Career outline:Marsh was born in Kalgoorlie, Australia... |
289 |
| 1981 | Greg Norman Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO is an Australian professional golfer and entrepreneur who spent 331 weeks as the world's Number 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 1990s... |
289 |
| 1980 | Gene Littler Gene Littler Gene Alec Littler is an American professional golfer. Known for a solid temperament and nicknamed "Gene the Machine" for his smooth rhythmical swing, he once said that, "Golf is not a game of great shots. It's a game of the best misses. The people who win make the smallest mistakes."-Early years... |
288 |
| 1979 | Barry Vivian |
289 |