Big names roll in for Aus Open week

Emirates Australian Open week has arrived, and Sydney is set to turn on one of the biggest and best shows in golf.

Players in the red hot 144-man field have begun arriving at the magnificent surrounds of The Australian Golf Club at Rosebery in inner-southern Sydney for the 104^th playing of the national Open.

The field for Australia’s oldest and most prestigious tournament includes a host of international stars including defending champion Abraham Ancer of Mexico, Spain’s Masters-winner Sergio Garcia, England’s Paul Casey, smooth-swinging South African Louis Oosthuizen and veterans like South Africa’s Ernie Els, South Korea’s KJ Choi and Canada’s Mike Weir.

The Australians Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith also will tee it up, with Leishman and Smith still chasing their first Stonehaven Cup, along with former winners like Greg Chalmers, Geoff Ogilvy, Peter Lonard, Robert Allenby and Matt Jones.

Young guns chasing the title include European-based Lucas Herbert, the 2018 champion Cameron Davis, Perth’s rookie sensation Min Woo Lee, world No. 1 amateur Takumi Kanaya from Japan and the Australian junior champion, Queenslander Elvis Smylie.

It is the best field the Open has seen for many years and it will be finalised today when qualifying rounds are played at three venues around Sydney. Throw in a championship venue of the calibre of The Australian, which is hosting its 21st national Open, and it is a recipe for a wonderful week at the same course that hosted the very first Australian Open in 1904.

After a wildly-successful debut in 2018, the All Abilities Championship returns and will be played concurrently with the professionals in the Open, drawing the world’s best all abilities players.

Twelve players including the first female all abilities player to compete, Daphne Van Houten of the Netherlands, will tee it up, including last year’s champion, Swedish player Johan Kammerstad, and a bunch of Australians including amputee legend Geoff Nicholas.

The Open tees off on Thursday morning, with eight final places in the field to be decided at qualifying today.

The Emirates Australian Open is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.