Higgs, the genial American who is one of the internationals in the fields for both the PGA Championship and the ISPS HANDA Australian Open the following week at Kingston Heath and The Victoria Golf Club, is excited to be here for the first time.

“My thought was that with the Aussie Open being on two different courses, in a perfect world to play them both before the tournament week to at least get a little bit more familiar with them, or at least sneak over and do one of them,” he said.

“I’m super-excited. I’ve never been to Australia. I’ve heard some unbelievable things about the golf, but also the people, the country itself. Apparently Melbourne has some of the best food you’ll ever have in the world, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the beaches, we’re really looking forward to it.

“We’re very fortunate that golf takes us all around the world. Pretty much anywhere I’ve gone is because of golf. I’m super-thrilled.”

A recent chat with Jordan Spieth only added to his sense of expectation, with multiple major-winner Spieth rating Kingston Heath, in particular, very highly.

“He (Spieth) was raving about it,” said Higgs. “He said Kingston Heath is in his top three (courses) of all time. Royal Melbourne is awesome with the history and everything, but he said if you had to pick for fun, and some of the shots you had to hit, that he had to give Kingston Heath the edge.”

Higgs, 32, won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024 and has earned his playing rights for the PGA TOUR in 2025. But first, he is going to enjoy his time Down Under.

“From what I’ve heard, Royal Queensland is maybe similar to a Florida golf course. It wouldn’t be something that I have never totally seen before, but then the two on the sandbelt could be a little tricky.”

The big question at Royal Queensland next week might well be his sartorial state, with the Dabble Party Hole at No. 17 coming into play. Higgs (and Joel Dahmen) both went shirtless at Scottsdale’s famous party hole in 2022, and he has heard about the atmosphere at RQ’s par-3 already.

Higgs intends remaining clothed at RQ, but admits that in some circumstances, that could change, especially if he produces a hole-in-one that gifts one million dollars to the assembled audience on Saturday afternoon.

“You’ve got guys getting booed, you’ve got guys betting cheered, it seems like a lot of cold beer is flowing. You get there, and your legs are shaking, and your heart is pounding, and you get over the ball and all you’re saying is ‘please hit the green, please hit the green’.

“It’ll be pretty similar on 17 at Royal Queensland.  (With) a hole-in-one, there’s no telling what happens … I might take an article of clothing off!”

The 2024 ISPS HANDA Australian Open and BMW Australian PGA Championship will be broadcast on Fox Sports and Kayo, as well as the NINE Network/9NOW.

For BMW Australian PGA Championship tickets, go to ticketek.com.au

Tickets for the ISPS HANDA Australian Open are available now via Ticketek

The Australian PGA Championship is supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Major Events Program and Brisbane City Council, through Brisbane Economic Development Agency.

PHOTO: Harry Higgs won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024. Image: Getty