Ozzie Season Launch 2026/2027

Image courtesy of Golf Australia

Golf Australia has released the 2026–27 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule, with 19 tournaments across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and a number of changes to venues and the order of events.

PGA Of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman and Challenger CEO Nick Hamilton. Image courtesy of Golf Australia

At the season launch at The Lakes Golf Club, venue for this years Australian PGA Championship, PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman announced a new five year extension with title partner Challenger. Kirkman said the new agreement was a major endorsement of the Tour’s direction and future.

Challenger Chief Executive Officer Nick Hamilton

Kirkman said “This five-year extension is a landmark moment for the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia…to secure the largest commercial partnership in our Tour's history demonstrates the confidence Challenger has in our vision, our players and the future of professional golf events across this region.”

The season begins with the PNG Open at Royal Port Moresby Golf Club from August 27–30 before returning to Australia for the CKB WA PGA Championship, WA Open and Players Series South Australia in October. Secret Harbour Golf Links will host the WA Open for the first time.

The Ford NSW Open follows at The Vintage Golf Club from November 12–15. The prize pool for this tournament is $800,000, which is more than triple that of all the other state opens and pga tournaments. It is only bettered by the Australian PGA and the Capitol.com Australian Open.

The Queensland PGA Championship will celebrate its 100th staging at Nudgee Golf Club from November 19–22. It will be followed by the BMW Australian PGA Championship at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney from November 26–29. The move to The Lakes is one of the major changes from last season and ends Queensland’s 25 year monopoly on the tournament.

The Capitol.com Australian Open will then be played at Kingston Heath Golf Club from December 3–6, with Rory McIlroy making his return to Melbourne. Canadian star and world number 50, Corey Connors, has committed to both the big Ozzie tournaments.

The 2026 year is closed out by the Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links from December 10-13. Marc Leishman is the defending champion, but we are yet to hear if he will be back to defend his title.

After Christmas the schedule picks up back in Western Australia from January 7-10 for the Players Series Perth, at Royal Fremantle Golf Club, hosted by Minjee and Min Woo Lee. Then it is off to another new venue for the Players Series Victoria presented by Drummond Golf & Marcus Fraser. The magnificent Peninsula Kingswood Country Club will host the tournament which will be a warm up for later in the year when it will host the Oz Open.

Next up is the Victorian Open which returns to the Bellarine Peninsula and 13th Beach Golf Links before the tour meanders north. The Players series Murray River in honour of Jarrod Lyle is at Cobram Barooga on January 28-31 and then it is the Players Series Sydney hosted by Peter O’Malley at Castle Hill Country Club from February 4-7.

The most significant scheduling change comes in New Zealand. Last season the three-event swing was the NZ PGA Championship, New Zealand Open and ISPS HANDA Japan-Australasia Championship. In 2026–27, the NZ PGA Championship at Paraparaumu Beach (February 11-14) will be followed by the Japan-Australasia Championship at Royal Auckland & Grange (February 18-21) with the New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort now the final event of the New Zealand swing on February 25-28.

The season concludes with The National Tournament at The National Golf Club from March 18–21.

The Order of Merit remains the major pathway to the DP World Tour, with the top three players earning European playing rights. The Order of Merit winner earns DP World Tour status in Category 17 and an entry to The Open Championship. Second and third place earn status on the secondary HotelPlanner tour.

Royal Melbourne - Oz Open 2026

The Australian summer will again provide fantastic golfing entertainment” and viewing. The two big Ozzie tournaments, already with stars like Rory McIlroy, Corey Connors, and Cam Smith will attract huge crowds. With those two events co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour, we will also see plenty of European stars and hopefully some more PGA Tour players downunder in December.