Jordan Spieth, a former Australian Open champ, is being targeted for the 2026 championship at Kingston Heath.
AUSTRALIAN Open boss Antonia Beggs was instrumental in securing Rory McIlroy to commit to playing in Australia because of her previous relationship with McIlroy’s management team through her previous involvement in the Ryder Cup.
The Northern Irishman led a resurgence of local gallery numbers not seen in 20 years at Royal Melbourne last year.
Now Beggs has American Jordon Spieth in her sights for this year’s Open at Kingston Heath. Spieth, a three-time major championship winner is believed to be within a whisker of signing a deal to come to here for our national championship.
But there was no official announcement at the time of going to press.Â
The other two top players in the sights or Australian tournament officials are thought to be Xander Schauffle and Colin Morikawa. In an ideal world all three would come to Australia to play both the Australian Open and PGA championships.
With time running out, the most likely scenario is that just Spieth will be here for the Australian Open.
The American will be a wonderful addition to the field at the Heath and he loves coming to Australia.
At the peak of his powers – he won his first major very early in his career – Spieth lifted the Stonehaven winner’s Cup at Royal Sydney following a three-hole playoff with Australians Cameron Smith and Ashley Hall.
The prospect of Spieth going head-to-head with Rory McIlroy at the superbly presented, world class Kingston Heath layout will add another exciting layer to our national championship.
Spieth won his first major – the Masters at Augusta – when he was 19. He shot 18-under to equal the record winning score of Tiger Woods in 1997.
Two years later he won the US Open aged 21 to sit alongside Bobby Jones as the two youngest winners of championship. The legendary Jones won the US Open in 1923.
Spieth won his third major at the 2017 Open Championship before a form slump followed. He did not win another professional tournament for four years.
He has won 13 times on the PGA TOUR.
Spieth would be a strong chance to play in the Australian PGA Championship at the Lakes in Sydney the week before the Australian Open, if he commits to teeing it up at Kingston Heath a week later.