NEWS

Royal Melbourne to host Australian Masters for first time later this year

By Associated Press
Published on
Royal Melbourne to host Australian Masters for first time later this year

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Royal Melbourne, venue for two Presidents Cups, is set to host the Australian Masters for the first time.

The 35th anniversary Australian Masters will be held Nov. 14-17 on the composite course made up of 12 holes from the West Course, which was designed by Augusta National architect Alister MacKenzie, and six from the East Course. The West Course is ranked No. 1 in Australia and is consistently rated among one of the top 15 courses in the world.

Royal Melbourne hosted the Presidents Cup in 1998, which marked the International team's only victory over the United States in the team event, and in 2011, when the Americans won easily. It also held the Heineken Classic, which Ernie Els won.

Adam Scott won last year's Australian Masters at Kingston Heath.

The sand belt courses of Melbourne are perhaps the finest stretch of golf courses in any city in the world, and Royal Melbourne gets the honor of hosting the 35th anniversary edition.

IMG is running the tournament, and said it was committed to bring at least three of the top 25 players in the world.