Change of plans for Australian golf
The schedule of 2011 of PGA of Australia was recently announced. The new schedule is quite different from what was expected. Stars like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and even Adam Scott, look forward to have been jumbled up.
The Australian Masters is usually played before the Presidents cup, but things would be different this time. The Masters lost its slot to Sydney’s Australian Open. The Triple Crown calendar appeared to have been shaken up as the schedule was announced.
According to the schedule, the Open would probably be held in Sydney from November 10-13, and then the President’s Cup would be held in Melbourne from November 17th to November 20th in 2011.
Following the Presidents Cup, the Australian PGA Championship will be played at Coolum form November 24th to November 27th. This only means that the Australian Masters will be moved on to December 1st till 4th
at Kingston Heath. Even this date is yet to be confirmed.
The news of schedule might be the most upsetting to the 14 time major championship winner, Tiger Woods. Woods, who won the Australian Masters in 2009, was hoping it would be held before the Presidents Cup. He preferred that the event would take place in
mid November. With the tournament now taking place in December, it does clash with Tiger’s own tournament, the Chevron World Challenge. Looks like Woods might not play in the Masters after all.
The schedule could mean bad news not only for Woods, but also for Australia’s top golfer, Scott. Adam is a three time winner of the Singapore Open with his latest victory coming earlier this year. Being the defending champion, Adam is supposed to play in
the Singapore Open. This again would give a tough decision to the player since playing in the Singapore Open would result in Scott not talking part in the Australian Open.
"There were a number of factors that needed to be carefully considered in finalizing the scheduling for 2011 including the timing of a number of international events, the availability of certain venues and the domestic schedule that best serves the Australian
golfing public," said Max Garske who is the PGA chief executive of the Tour of Australasia.
He said that since the focus will be on the Presidents Cup, any of the events prior or subsequent to it will benefit. Whether the events benefit or not, the new schedule has clearly put the players in a tight spot.
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