Kiwi Ryan Fox is poised to follow in the footsteps of Cameron Smith and bring the claret jug, the sport’s most historic trophy, to Australia for the summer of golf.
The Open champion Fox is on the cusp of confirming his global celebration will include Australia, the same tour where he made his name as a professional golfer, before claiming a first major last month at 39.
There hasn’t been a more popular men’s major winner in recent memory, with PGA Tour of Australasia officials lobbying Fox to emulate Smith by including either the Australian PGA Championship or Australian Open as part of his worldwide victory lap.
A decision on whether Fox plays both events at Sydney’s The Lakes Golf Club and Melbourne’s Kingston Heath is yet to be finalised.
But it’s believed the third generation New Zealand sporting representative will feature in at least one tournament in Australia.
On Monday, the PGA Tour of Australasia will confirm the schedule for its 2026-27 season, which will begin with the PNG Open at Port Moresby later this month, and also include a three-week New Zealand swing.
That part of the tour will start with the Quinovic NZ PGA Championship at Paraparaumu and finish with the New Zealand Open in Queenstown.
The NSW Open will return to the Hunter Valley in November at the Greg Norman-designed The Vintage.
The circuit’s major backer Challenger has signed a five-year agreement, the longest in the history of the PGA Tour of Australasia.
Cameron Smith’s profile soared when he brought the claret jug back to Australia in 2022 after his memorable triumph at St Andrews, and Fox will still be basking in his incredible victory at Royal Birkdale later this year.
“He’s such a well-liked guy and I think that adds to the story,” PGA Tour of Australasia chairman and former Open champion Ian Baker-Finch said.
“We’ve got a 39-year-old who came through the ranks just like I did, winning the Queensland PGA, the WA Open and other Australian tour events, now to win an Open after a couple on the US Tour as well is really exciting.”
Rory McIlroy will headline the Australian Open again at Kingston Heath, with Smith also confirmed for the Melbounre sandbelt as he hunts his first national championship after a shattering finish on the 72nd hole at Royal Melbourne last year.
With the golfing world waiting to see if LIV Golf will attract A$350 million in private equity to continue next year after the Saudi public investment fund withdrew its support, the PGA Tour of Australasia has rolled out the welcome mat for the league’s stars.
LIV’s Spanish young gun David Puig won the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in 2025, and it’s expected other stars from the league will also chase world rankings points in Australia at the end of the year.
“Everyone now sees what’s going on in the world order of golf and the PGA Tour has gone to this championship and challenger series,” Baker-Finch said.
“There are opportunities now in that October, November, December, January period that we haven’t had for the last 20 years. People in the industry and people in the TV world can see that will be big for the Australasian tour.
“Even LIV 2.0, if it does eventuate, certainly won’t be as good or as big as it was. We have four, five or six Australian players who have played on the LIV tour we’ve stayed very close to, and we’re encouraging them in any way we can to come back and play.
“We want them and all of their LIV mates looking for places to play to come and play in Australia.”
“It’s the biggest deal we’ve ever had in Australian golf,” Baker-Finch said.
“We have the golf courses, we have the weather, we have the players and we now have a television platform we can now rely on week in week out.
“The end of last season was spectacular, and we can only get better.”
Said PGA of Australia chief executive Gavin Kirkman: “We have got momentum and we’ve got to keep it moving now.
“With Foxy, it shows what our pathways can do, and we do produce great players down here in Australia and New Zealand. We will continue to do so.”