The spectacular desert landscape of Kalgoorlie Golf Course will serve as the backdrop to the commencement of the Australian summer of golf following further changes to the PGA Tour of Australasia 2021/2022 schedule.

Following last week’s announcement that both the Australian Open and Australian PGA Championship would be pushed back to dates in early 2022, the PGA Tour of Australasia has made further adjustments to give the summer schedule the best chance of going ahead with quality fields.

Moving back into the date previously scheduled for the Australian Open, the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder WA PGA Championship presented by TX Civil & Logistics will now be played from November 25-28 at the Graham Marsh-designed Kalgoorlie Golf Course and will be followed a week later by the Nexus RISK WA Open at Royal Fremantle Golf Club.

The Victorian PGA Championship and Gippsland Super 6 have also been pushed back and will follow directly after the two WA events, the Vic PGA to take place at Moonah Links Resort on the Mornington Peninsula from December 9-12 before the tour moves onto Warragul Country Club from December 16-19. The Tour will then have a three-week Christmas-New Year break before resuming with the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club (January 13-16).

Ongoing border closures have necessitated the shift of tournaments originally slated to be played in October and November as PGA Tour of Australasia officials endeavour to deliver a condensed calendar of events that will help facilitate a full Order of Merit season.

“Our primary desire is to give our Tour the best possible chance to conduct as many events as possible in dates that will allow all our membership to participate in tournaments that carry full Order of Merit status,” said Nick Dastey, Tournaments Director Australasia for the PGA of Australia.

“It has become increasingly obvious in recent weeks that with the current lockdowns and restrictions across the country we were going to need some extra time to achieve this outcome.

“The postponement of both the Australian Open and Australian PGA were key pieces of the puzzle but we hope that this adjusted schedule will provide our players with a greater sense of certainty and excitement about a genuine summer of golf.

“This past 18 months has obviously been an extremely challenging time for tournament golf in Australia and New Zealand and we are extremely grateful that our tournament partners, which includes the players, have all been so patient and understanding.”

As has been the case throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, players will need to be able to travel freely between states for tournaments to retain full Order of Merit status, a freedom that officials hope will be possible by the end of the year.

“At current vaccination rates, the 80 per cent threshold is anticipated to be met in mid-November. Hopefully with that we will see an easing of restrictions around the country,” added Dastey.

“We owe it to our players to give every event the best possible chance to conduct Order of Merit events that all members are able to take part in and we owe it to our sponsors to provide the highest quality fields that we can.

“We’re hopeful that by the time the WA PGA Championship at Kalgoorlie Golf Course is due to begin on November 25 that we will be in position to deliver on both of those.”

Revised PGA Tour of Australasia schedule through to January 16. Further announcements to follow.

November 25-28             CKB WA PGA Championship pres by TX Civil & Logistics at Kalgoorlie GC

December 2-5   Nexus RISK WA Open at Royal Fremantle GC

December 9-12 Victorian PGA Championship at Moonah Links Resort

December 16-19             Gippsland Super 6 at Warragul Country Club

January 13-16    Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland GC