By Tony Webeck

Superstars back on Australian shores, time-honoured tournaments returning to the schedule and a format change that promises to deliver an enthralling race to crown an Order of Merit champion; the 2022/2023 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia season is coming in hot.

Starting with the CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics at the iconic Kalgoorlie Golf Course on the western fringe of the Nullarbor Plain, there are 16 scheduled tournaments throughout Australia and New Zealand over the next six months.

The ISPS HANDA Australian Open will be contested for the first time since 2019 and will break new ground of its own.

For the first time the Australian Open will bring both male and female golfers together at two storied venues in Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club.

Legends such as Karrie Webb and Geoff Ogilvy will tee it up alongside stars of today such as Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Hannah Green and Stephanie Kyriacou and two-time men’s champion Matt Jones.

The Australian Open is also one of two DP World Tour co-sanctioned events as one of golf’s biggest tours kicks off its season Down Under.

With record prize money of $2 million, the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship will serve as the first event of the new DP World Tour season where former winners in Smith and Scott will go head-to-head with Kiwi No.1 Ryan Fox, Min Woo Lee, Lucas Herbert and defending champion Jed Morgan.

With people now able to freely move between Australia and New Zealand, the season is also significantly enhanced by the return of the New Zealand Open for the first time since 2020 and the NZ PGA Championship which has been on hiatus since 2019.

There will be extensive television coverage over the course of the season and the move to a points-based Order of Merit is designed to deliver a thrilling finale in April where numerous pathway opportunities will be awarded to the top finishers.

“After two challenging years due to COVID-19 we are thrilled to unveil a 16-tournament schedule that welcomes back some of the largest events on the PGA Tour of Australasia calendar,” said PGA of Australia Tournaments Director Australasia.

“Travel restrictions have limited our capacity to conduct tournaments in New Zealand so we can’t wait to get back to two events with such rich histories.

“It’s also great to have the Australian Open back and the coming together of both men and women on the Melbourne Sandbelt promises to begin a new chapter for two of Australia’s most treasured championships.

“This season also represents the return of some of our very best players to our biggest tournaments and their enthusiasm and support should ensure the summer of golf is one of our most successful in many years.”

The season commences with consecutive tournaments in Western Australia followed by a three-week break back.

Starting with the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links from November 10-13 there is a five-week run of tournaments highlighted by the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club (November 24-27) and Australian Open (December 1-4).

In addition to tournaments in four of the country’s capital cities, the PGA Tour of Australasia season also stretches into regional communities on the Murray River, Victoria’s West Gippsland region and Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas, the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales and Kalgoorlie-Boulder in WA, where it all begins on Thursday. 2022/2023 schedule

October 13-16 CKB WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics Kalgoorlie Golf Course, Kalgoorlie, WA Defending champion: Jay Mackenzie Total prize money: $250,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 October 20-23 WA Open Golf Championship Western Australian Golf Club, Perth, WA Defending champion: Braden Becker Total prize money: $162,500 Order of Merit points: 1,000 November 10-13 Victorian PGA Championship Moonah Links (Open and Legends Cses), Fingal VIC Defending champion: Blake Windred Total prize money: $250,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 November 17-20 Queensland PGA Championship Nudgee Golf Club, Nudgee, QLD Defending champion: Anthony Quayle Total prize money: $250,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 November 24-27 Fortinet Australian PGA Championship Royal Queensland Golf Club, Eagle Farm, QLD Defending champion: Jediah Morgan Total prize money: $2,000,000 Order of Merit points: 4,000 December 1-4 ISPS HANDA Australian Open The Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club, Cheltenham, VIC Defending champion: Matt Jones Total prize money: $1,700,000 Order of Merit points: 4,000 December 8-11 Gippsland Super 6 Warragul Country Club, Warragul, VIC Defending champion: Jack Thompson Total prize money: $200,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 January 26-29 TPS Victoria Hosted by Geoff Ogilvy Rosebud Country Club (Composite Cse), Rosebud, VIC Defending champion: Todd Sinnott Total prize money: $200,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 February 2-5 TPS Murray River in Honour of Jarrod Lyle Cobram Barooga Golf Club (Old Cse), Barooga, NSW Defending champion: Hannah Green Total prize money: $200,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 February 9-12 Vic Open 13th Beach Golf Links (Beach and Creek Cses), Barwon Heads, VIC Defending champion: Dimitrios Papadatos Total prize money: $420,000 Order of Merit points: 2,000 February 16-19 TPS Sydney, Presented by Webex, Hosted by Braith Anasta Bonnie Doon Golf Club, Pagewood, NSW Defending champion: Jarryd Felton Total prize money: $200,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 February 23-26 TPS Hunter Valley, Hosted by Jan Stephenson & Peter O'Malley Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort, Pokolbin, NSW Defending champion: Aaron Pike Total prize money: $200,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000 March 2-5 102nd New Zealand Open Presented by Sky Sport Millbrook Golf Resort, Queenstown, NZ Defending champion: Brad Kennedy (2020) Total prize money: TBA Order of Merit points: TBA March 9-12 NZ PGA Championship Venue TBA, Auckland Defending champion: Kazuma Kobori (2019) Total prize money: TBA Order of Merit points: TBA March 16-19 Play Today NSW Open Venue TBA Defending champion: Harrison Crowe Total prize money: $400,000 Order of Merit points: 2,000 March 30-April 2 PGA Tour of Australasia Season Finale Venue TBA Total prize money: $200,000 Order of Merit points: 1,000