Golf Australia CEO refutes viability of "simple" solution to the Australian Open's problems

Golf Australia CEO James Sutherland believes the solution to reviving the Australian Open isn’t as simple as separating the women’s and men’s formats, despite calls from high-profile players to do so.

The likes of Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman, and Adam Scott have criticised the historic tournament’s decision to combine the women’s and men’s competitions; the popular solution amongst players being to split the tournament once again.

Sutherland has combated complaints from players over a lack of consultation, saying that the economic viability of the tournament makes picking any option complicated.

“There's no doubt that some of our male players aren’t terribly keen on the format but like the date… on the flip side, our female players don’t like the date but like the format. The obvious solution is to separate the two but it's not as simple as that,” Sutherland told SEN 1170 Mornings.

“Rebuilding it is really challenging because golf doesn’t enjoy the rivers of gold that some of the big sports do in terms of television media rights so the revenue that comes into fund the game has to come in from alternate sources.

“I don’t think this is an experiment. If you think this is an experiment, you’re missing the point from where we have come from since COVID. We had to rebuild from virtually nothing.”

Sutherland says the event’s standing amongst the world golf market is a key factor of consideration for Golf Australia as it gauges how to build its long-term financial sustainability.

“The importance of the event and the significance of that, its history and what it means to our golfers, is not lost on us,” Sutherland said.

“Just as a snapshot, the women’s Australian open is 50 years old this year, over the course of that 50 years, one in three years on average it has been cancelled largely for economic viability reasons.”

“It's our responsibility to find a way forward and keep making good decisions that are in the best interest in the sustainable future of the tournament and golf in Australia.

No decision on format or location has been made on the future of the tournament as yet.