The Golf Challenge NSW Open Championship is again set to showcase Australasia’s best golfers early next year with tournament dates now set for March 17th to 20th, 2022.
Minister for Tourism Stuart Ayres said the return of the 91-year-old Championship to the renowned Concord Golf Club was a major coup for Sydney.
“The NSW Open Golf Championship is a significant event on the State’s sporting calendar, and the Government is proud to be a supporter again in 2022,” Mr Ayres said.
“The last Championship at Concord in March this year was a great success with overwhelming support from fans and the community, and I’m sure they can’t wait to see some of Australia’s best golfers back on the course vying for the Kel Nagle Cup next year.”
“The Championship will also deliver a welcome boost to the visitor economy, which is emerging from a particularly challenging year. The heads on beds, patrons in cafes, bar and restaurants, retail shoppers and visitors to Sydney’s attractions that result from the tournament will make a major contribution to the city’s social and economic recovery.”
Stuart Fraser, CEO of Golf NSW, was thrilled with the dates for this year’s tournament.
“Although a couple of weeks earlier than last year, it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to ensure the tournament remains one of the most important fixtures on the Australian golf calendar, ” Mr Fraser said.
“Concord proved to be a fabulous venue for last year’s Championship, and the crowds we saw on the final day showed how thirsty the public are for elite tournament golf.”
The host venue, Concord, is no stranger to professional Golf or the NSW Open, having already hosted the tournament an impressive 11 times in its 90-year history.
“The greater community have been incredibly resilient during this challenging period, and we are pleased we can stage the NSW Open on this date,” Mr Fraser added.
Nick Dastey, the PGA of Australia’s Tournaments Director, said the confirmation of the tournament on the 2021/22 Tour Schedule was significant and would fall at a crucial period as players battle for order-of-merit spoils.
“To be able to return to Concord for this great championship is a real coup for the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and our players.
“The players loved the venue and the presentation of the course in particular how the Sydney public embraced the event.”
The list of players crowned NSW Open Champion at Concord is impressive and includes some of the greatest names in Australian Golf. Vic Richardson, Eric Cremin and Norman Von Nida all tasted victory at the revered course, while four-time champion Greg Norman made the tournament his own during the 1980s, lifting the Kel Nagle Cup at Concord three times in five years.
The $400,000 NSW Open will take place at Concord Golf Club from March 17th to 20th, 2022. It forms part of the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.
Tournament Facts:
Host Venue: Concord Golf Club, Majors Bay Road, Concord NSW.
Dates: 17- 20 March 2022
Website: www.nswopen.com
Prize Fund: AU$400,000 (MIN)
The Venue:
Ranked well inside the top 50 on the list of Australia’s best golf courses, Concord Golf Club will provide a challenge to the 140 plus players vying for the Kel Nagle Cup.
Redesigned by the world-renowned course architect Tom Doak, Concord tests the game’s best but is still manageable for the average player. Immaculately presented, the course places a premium on position off the tee as much as length. Imaginative bunkering and green complexes which demand creativity and thought from players complement the impressive layout.
History:
The New South Wales Open Golf Championship has a rich history stretching back to 1931, pre-dating the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.
First held at Manly Golf Club, the tournament was initially played as a ‘close’ format championship, meaning it was open only to residents of New South Wales. (*See note of Concord winners below). Tom Howard, Sam Richardson, and Charlie Gray finished in a three-way tie in the inaugural event, with Charlie Gray lifting the title after a 36-hole play-off.
The Open grabbed the NSW public’s attention during the Great Depression, at a time when many had very little to look forward to other than cheering on our sporting heroes. As the decade wore on, it quickly evolved into the tournament ‘They all wanted to play, soon becoming one of the big three tournaments in our nation, sitting alongside the Australian Open and the Australian PGA Championship.
In 1958 the tournament finally became a truly ‘Open’ event, attracting the cream of Australia’s golfing elite along with appearances by some of the best players in the world.
The NSW Open Championship boasts an honour roll listing many of Australia’s finest golfers, including World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Kel Nagle, Greg Norman, and Peter Thomson. Legends like Norman Von Nida, Eric Cremin & Frank Phillips, as well as amateurs including five-time champion Jim Ferrier, Owen Beldham, Tony Gresham, Rick Kulacz and Ben Eccles are also on the list of Champions.Other names to lift the Kel Nagle Cup include Ian Baker-Finch, Ted Ball, Billy Dunk, Peter Lonard, Jack Newton, Peter O’Malley, Craig Parry, Bob Shearer, Ian Stanley, & Jason Scrivener.
2021 Champion Victorian Bryden Macpherson is expected to defend his title next March.
Past winners of the NSW Open at Concord GC:
1934 VS (Sam) Richardson*
1939 Norman von Nida*
1949 Eric Cremin*
1956 Frank Phillips*
1966 Frank Phillips
1980 George Serhan
1983 Greg Norman
1985 Ian Stanley
1986 Greg Norman
1988 Greg Norman
2021 Bryden MacPherson
(*Tournament played under ‘Closed’ format)