Date: October 05, 2012
Author: Golf Australia

World Number 5 Rose joins Open field

World Number 5 and Ryder Cup hero Justin Rose will play at the Emirates Australian Open at The Lakes Golf Club from 6-9 December in Sydney. Rose won the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March and capped an exceptional year with a runner-up finish at the Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola before playing a key role in Team Europe s heroic Ryder Cup victory. The 32 year-old and four-time PGA Tour winner said he was excited about returning to Australia. I m looking forward to coming to Sydney for my first trip back to Australia in a few years and I ve always enjoyed it, Rose said. This will be my second Australian Open and the tournament has a history of wonderful champions and I hope I can add my name to that list in December. Rose has tasted success in Australia before, winning the Australian Masters in 2006 at Huntingdale. Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt said Rose would bring added excitement to the Open. Justin has had a fantastic year on Tour, rising to World Number 5 and playing a key role in Team Europe s thrilling win at the Ryder Cup. We look to forward to welcoming him to Sydney as he seeks to join the Open s exceptional honour roll, Pitt said. The field for the Open is shaping up very nicely and the fans are in for some world class golf in Sydney. Rose will join 8-time Major champion Tom Watson, World Number 6 Adam Scott, defending champion Greg Chalmers and former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy among the headline names in Sydney. The NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, said: The NSW Government welcomes the news that Justin Rose is participating in the Emirates Australian Open in Sydney. The NSW Government, through Destination NSW, has entered a strategic partnership with Golf Australia to stage the Open in Sydney until 2015. We are committed to our long term vision of seeing the tournament become the premier event of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. Rose s commitment is another boost for the championship following yesterday s confirmation that the Seven Network will be the host broadcaster for the tournament. Brian Thorburn, CEO of the PGA of Australia said: Justin adds to a growing list of world class players coming to Australia this season to compete on the PGA Tour of Australasia. We look forward to welcoming Justin to Sydney to take on Australia s best. Tickets for the Emirates Australian Open are on sale now at Ticketek at www.ticketek.com or by phoning 132 849. Travel packages for the Emirates Australian Open are now available visit www.emiratesaustralianopen.com.au for further details.