Rory McIlroy decided he would play this year's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne before he won the Masters at Augusta National in April, the man himself revealed, among other things, to John Huggan in the feature piece of our December issue.
In the same way that every epic journey is initiated by a single step, long-term relationships and deep emotional attachments can evolve from humble beginnings. So it is that this December, two decades after an initial encounter best described as inconspicuous, Rory McIlroy and the Australian Open will come together again for the first time since 2014.
It is an almost peerless combination and, for the rest of us, a high-profile box-office event that will surely delight a proud golfing nation. How could it not? The man many see as the most gifted golfer on the planet and the now 121-year-old championship he won at Royal Sydney in 2013 will re-acquaint in the perfect setting - the southern hemisphere’s finest course, Royal Melbourne’s composite lay-out.
“I’m really excited at the opportunity to play in the Australian Open this year,” confirms McIlroy. “I actually decided to go before I won the Masters at Augusta National. So to be able to bring the green jacket with me is a great bonus. Everyone asks if I’ve already played Royal Melbourne. I think they expect me to say ‘yes’. But no, I’ve never been there. I really cannot wait to play that golf course. The Melbourne Sandbelt as a whole provides opportunities to play a different style of golf.”
McIlroy knows of what he speaks, of course. Twenty years ago (accompanied by future DP World Tour player Ollie Fisher and their fathers) the then-teenager made his maiden trip to Australia. Before the Open, the youngsters competed at the Dunes Club in its eponymous Medal tournament and at Huntingdale in the now-defunct Australian Masters.
In the first of those, despite shooting 67 in the third round – the second-lowest score of the week - McIlroy finished seventh, nine shots behind the winner, a 17-year-old by the name of Jason Day. And in the Masters (won by Robert Allenby), he pulled up in 49th place after rounds of 74-70-73-72. Fisher, incidentally, tied with Day for 13th place and low amateur honours at Huntingdale.
Hang on, though; let’s go a little further back in time, to Monday, 21st November 2005 and the real beginning of this 20-year-old acquaintance between McIlroy and Australia’s historic national championship. Let’s go back to a pre-qualifying round for the upcoming Open at Moonah Links; one being played over the Rosebud Country Club’s North course on the Mornington Peninsula.
American Spencer Levin’s seven-under-par 65 would prove to be the best of that far-off day, but earlier interest amongst golf’s more discerning cognoscenti lay in the first pair off the first tee at 8am - Queenslander Andrew Duffin and a then-relatively unknown teenage Irish amateur. (Surely to his eternal regret, the third member of the original threesome, one D.Levin, failed to show up at the appointed hour).
Duffin, now an assistant professional at the Oxley Golf Club in Brisbane, shot a four-under-par 68 which saw him qualify via a nine-man play-off for eight spots and, much to his lasting satisfaction, “nipped young Rory by a shot”. The mature McIlroy who is today so familiar to fans worldwide had yet to fully form, but his playing partner wasn’t slow to discern signs of future greatness. Sometimes, you can just tell. And this was
one of those times.
“I could tell right away he was a special talent,” says Duffin. “The way Rory drove the ball was as good, if not better than now. He was maybe 20-30 yards longer than me. He would probably hit it 100 past me now. The height he hit the ball was so impressive. It seemed to stay in the air forever. Everything was really solid. I played a fair bit of golf with Adam Scott when I was younger and I had the same feeling about Rory that I had about Adam. Looking back, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me.”
For McIlroy, a play-off of his own would beckon; one featuring seven players for the more mundane prize of fourth alternate spot in the championship proper. That contest lasted only two holes. The youngster and another amateur, Ray Beaufils, were the only two of the original seven to make par on the opener, a tough par-4 playing into a strong breeze.
“It came down to Rory and myself on the second play-off hole,” says Beaufils, now a reinstated amateur and part of his family’s electrical contracting business in Brisbane. “It was a short par-4. I was longer than him back then. He laid up, then wedged to maybe 10 feet. I had only 50 yards for my approach, which finished maybe 30 feet above the hole. It was a fast putt and I hit it well past. He put the pressure on me to make the second putt. I actually ended up four-putting, which was disappointing at the time. It is fun to look back on that day though, considering all that Rory has since done in the game.”
Sadly, that now-lengthy record of achievement does not contain a 72-hole aggregate score in his Australian Open debut. At Moonah, McIlroy shot rounds of 73-79 to miss the cut by three strokes. However, since then, there isn’t much he hasn’t done at least once; the climax coming earlier this year when victory in the Masters at Augusta National made him only the sixth man in history after Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to complete the career Grand Slam. Through it all though, one thing has remained constant. There has never been any doubt about the Northern Irishman’s enduring affection for the Australian Open.
“I have said this for so long: I think the Australian Open should be one of the biggest events on the calendar,” says McIlroy. “It should be; it has to be. I mean, ask any of the top players in tennis for their favourite tournament and many of them say the Australian Open. The golf championship should have the same appeal.
“The courses down there are so good and the fans are wonderful. Look at the little stranglehold that LIV has now on Adelaide. That shows me how much the golf people of Australia want to see the best players in action in the flesh. So I’m looking forward to playing in front of the Aussie crowds. I’ve not been there for so long.
“The timing of the event is perfect, too. It’s going to be a great vibe. The last few Australian Opens I’ve played in have been in Sydney, so I’m looking forward to spending some time in Melbourne; it’s a great sports city.”
Adding to his obvious respect for all things Aussie is the specific anticipation McIlroy is feeling about playing Royal Melbourne for the first time. Oddly, despite visiting nearby Kingston Heath, Metropolitan and Huntingdale during his previous visits, McIlroy has yet to set foot on the grounds at the biggest jewel in Australian golf’s crown.
“Adam Scott told me at the start of the year that it looked like the Open was going back to Royal Melbourne, then Kingston Heath in 2026,” reveals the five-time major champion. “That immediately got my attention. I was like ‘sign me up’. I remember every hole at Kingston Heath, which in turn reminds me how good the course is. It has probably one of the best par-3s in the world; the 10th as the course normally plays. Anyway, when I heard Adam say that, I knew I had to get back down there.”
McIlroy’s level of enthusiasm is understandably enhanced by the fact his name is already etched on the Stonehaven Cup. It was, however, a victory that provoked a range of mixed feelings amongst the spectators lining the fairways at Royal Sydney. With one hole to play, the Northern Irishman actually trailed Scott, his playing partner in all four rounds, by a single stroke. Thus, the sense of anticipation in the gallery was almost palpable. The Open was the climax to the then-Masters champion’s first return to his homeland since winning at Augusta and he was riding a wave of unprecedented popularity. It is safe to say not many in the vast crowds were barracking for a McIlroy victory.
“It was amazing, but for 71 holes Adam was always that little bit ahead of me,” recalls McIlroy. “I actually holed a great putt on the 17th green on that last day to keep me just one shot behind. Then going up the last, Adam slightly thinned his wedge shot and the ball went over the green. I hit a good shot in, before he chipped past my ball. When he missed his putt, I had one for the win. Honestly, it was one of the first putts I’d ever had to make to win a tournament. And the crowd reaction when I did hole out was obviously quite muted. Adam is such a hero in Australia.”
Still, no feeling of anything approaching resentment lingers in McIlroy’s heart and mind. Not even close. In fact, his lasting memory of the immediate aftermath of victory is the “congratulatory” handshake he received from Steve Williams, Scott’s caddie.
“He almost broke my hand,” shudders McIlroy. “He gripped so hard. He always had a really strong handshake, but I got the feeling there was a little something extra in that one [laughs].”
Which is what McIlroy will surely bring to an Australian Open in need of resurrection. Once one of the world’s most important events, it has sadly receded into mediocrity and beyond over the last few years. However, 2025 promises to be different in a good way and a springboard for bigger and better things to come. McIlroy certainly hopes so.
“I’m aware of how things have gone for the Australian Open the last few years,” he says. “I have followed the downward trajectory of the tournament. My dearest wish is that my going this year will encourage others to do the same. I am a big fan of national Opens in general. They are the events with the most history. That is the big thing for me. Why do we love the [British] Open? Why do we love the U.S Open? Why do we love the Australian Open? Because they are historic.
“It’s unfortunate that the world of golf has gone the way it has,” continues McIlroy. “Everything is so commercialised these days. More than most people, I know that everything takes money. Look, the hard part is getting local sponsors on board. We need them to think it’s worth their while to get behind events like the Australian Open. Whatever, I know this championship is going to be a great week; I’m excited.”
His own sense of anticipation augurs well for what we can all expect to see and hear from McIlroy at Royal Melbourne. The high-octane performance he produced within Europe’s victory over the United States at the recent Ryder Cup was one every golf fan surely savoured. And his long-awaited return to the Australian Open is more than likely to promote similar levels of ambition and achievement. For all of us, not least Rory himself, there is much to look forward to.
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