e past winners of the prestigious Emirates Australian Open as well as a recent winner on the United States PGA Tour have joined the white hot field for this year’s Open.
Robert Allenby, who won the Open in 1994 and 2005, Stuart Appleby (2001) and left-hander Greg Chalmers (1998, 2011) have all confirmed their places in the field alongside world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, world No. 2 Adam Scott, and rising American superstar Jordan Spieth.
New South Welshman Matt Jones, winner of the Houston Open in America this year, also is a confirmed starter.
Appleby and Allenby, who played pennant together on the Melbourne sandbelt before becoming fixtures on the US Tour, have shown returns to form recently.
Appleby had a late rally in the 2014 season, finishing second in the Barclays Championship to end up 31st on the Fedex Cup rankings.
He is a nine-time winner in America and at one point was ranked in the top 10 players in the world.
Allenby finished 125th on the Fedex Cup rankings in 2014 but conjured a tied-eight finish in his first tournament of the new season, the Frys.com Open in California last weekend.
Jones, 34, is coming off his breakthrough season in America, where he won the Houston Open in April and secured his first-ever start in the Masters tournament at Augusta National. It was also his first victory on the US Tour.
The Sydney professional finished tied-second in the Emirates Australian Open behind Geoff Ogilvy at The Lakes in 2010.
Organisers of the Open believe they will have the strongest field for a men’s golf tournament in this country since the 2011 Presidents Cup.
Last week Ogilvy, Steven Bowditch and John Senden, all winners in America this year, committed to playing at The Australian.
Zimbabwean Brendon De Jonge, American Boo Weekley and Sweden’s Daniel Chopra also are in the field.
The Emirates Australian Open is to be played at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney from 27-30 November.
Tickets are available through Ticketek www.ticketek.com or by calling 132849