Women's Australian Open

The Women's Australian Open is a women's professional golf tournament played in Australia, operated by Golf Australia and the WPGA Tour of Australasia, long co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET). Beginning with the 2012 event, it was also co-sanctioned by the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. In 2008, it was the second-richest women's golf tournament on the ALPG Tour, with a prize fund of A$500,000, and was raised to A$600,000 in 2010. With the co-sanctioning by the LPGA, the total purse was nearly doubled, and was also fixed in U.S. dollars. The purse was US$1.1 million in 2012, and increased again to its current level of US$1.2 million for 2013. Since 2011, the tournament's name has been the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open.

The Australian Ladies Open was founded in 1974 as a 54-hole event, but folded after 1978. It was resurrected in 1994 as the Women's Australian Open, this time as a 72-hole event. Annika Sörenstam won that year, which was her first professional win. It was also Karrie Webb's professional debut, and she would later win the event five times. Starting in 2000, the Ladies European Tour began co-sanctioning the tournament. Following the 2004 event, sponsorship difficulties caused the tournament to stop once again, but after a two-year hiatus the tournament returned in 2007. The Women's Australian Open usually moves between various courses around Australia, except from 1995 through 2002 when it was held at the Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne. The 2008 event was held at Kingston Heath Golf Club.

For several years after its return in 1994, the Women's Australian Open was played early in the ALPG schedule, usually in November. Starting in 2000, it was changed to be played at the end of the schedule in February near the ANZ Ladies Masters, to allow both tournaments to be part of the Ladies European Tour. Since the Women's Australian Open was played from 12 to 15 November 1998 during the 1998/1999 ALPG season, it was therefore not played during the 1999 calendar year.

The 2012 tournament was played at the Composite Course at Royal Melbourne, the championship course comprising 12 holes from the West course and six from the East course. The Composite Course is considered one of the top courses in the world, and was used for the Presidents Cup competitions in 1998 and 2011. Through 2011, a women's professional competition had never been held on it; the 2012 Women's Australian Open was the first. The event was won by Jessica Korda after an historic six-player playoff, only the second in ALPG history. Korda holed a birdie putt on the second playoff hole to claim her first LPGA Tour victory.

In 2013, the tournament moved to Royal Canberra Golf Club, and in 2014 to the Victoria Golf Club near Melbourne. In 2016 the event moved to Adelaide and was played there until 2020. In 2021, it was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, the tournament was played at Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club. In a world-first for golf, the ISPS Handa Australian Open brought together the national men's and women's Open events, along with the All Abilities Championship. The men's Open and the women's Open had equal prize money of as the Open returned to Melbourne for the first time in several years. In 2022, the event fell during the LPGA's off-season and during the tour's final stage of qualifying school and therefore co-sanctioning the event with the LPGA was not possible.

Tournament names 1974: Wills Australian Ladies Open 1975–1978: Wills Qantas Australian Ladies Open 1994–1996: Holden Women's Australian Open 1997: Toyota Women's Australian Open 1998–2004: AAMI Women's Australian Open 2007–20: MFS Women's Australian Open 2009: Women's Australian Open 2010: Handa Women's Australian Open 2011–2024: ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open 2026: Women's Australian Open

Winners Year Tour(s) Champion Country Score Venue(s) Purse Winner'sshare2026 Hannah Green 277 (−11) Kooyonga A$1,700,000 A$255,0002025 Tournament moved from November (2024) to March (2026)2024 WPGA Jiyai Shin (2) 274 (−17) Kingston Heath & Victoria A$1,700,000 A$270,0002023 WPGA Ashleigh Buhai (2) 280 (−9) The Australian & The Lakes A$1,700,000 A$270,0002022 WPGA Ashleigh Buhai 277 (−12) Kingston Heath & Victoria A$1,700,000 A$270,0002021 ALPG Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic2020 Inbee Park 278 (−14) Royal Adelaide US$1,300,000 US$195,0002019 Nelly Korda 271 (−17) The Grange 1,300,000 195,0002018 Ko Jin-young 274 (−14) Kooyonga 1,300,000 195,0002017 Jang Ha-na 282 (−10) Royal Adelaide 1,300,000 195,0002016 Haru Nomura 272 (−16) The Grange 1,300,000 195,0002015 Lydia Ko 283 (−9) Royal Melbourne 1,200,000 180,0002014 Karrie Webb (5) 276 (−12) Victoria 1,200,000 180,0002013 Jiyai Shin 274 (−18) Royal Canberra 1,200,000 180,0002012 Jessica Korda 289 (−3)PO Royal Melbourne 1,100,000 165,0002011 Yani Tseng (2) 276 (−16)CommonwealthA$600,000 A$90,0002010 Yani Tseng (1) 283 (−9) Commonwealth 600,000 90,0002009 Laura Davies (2) 285 (−7)Metropolitan500,000 75,0002008 Karrie Webb (4) 284 (−8)POKingston Heath500,000 75,0002007 Karrie Webb (3)278 (−10)Royal Sydney500,00075,0002005–06: Not played2004 Laura Davies (1) 283 (−5) Concord 550,000 82,5002003 Mhairi McKay277 (−11)Terrey Hills 500,00075,0002002 Karrie Webb (2) 278 (−10)POYarra Yarra 500,000 75,0002001 Sophie Gustafson276 (−12) Yarra Yarra 400,000 60,0002000 Karrie Webb (1) 270 (−22) Yarra Yarra 350,000 52,5001999 Tournament moved from November (1998) to February (2000)1998 ALPG Marnie McGuire280 (−12) Yarra Yarra 350,000 52,5001997 ALPG Jane Crafter279 (−13) Yarra Yarra 350,000 52,5001996 ALPG Catriona Matthew283 (−9) Yarra Yarra 300,000 45,0001995 ALPG Liselotte Neumann283 (−9)PO Yarra Yarra 250,000 37,5001994 ALPG Annika Sörenstam286 (−10) Royal Adelaide200,00030,0001979–93: Not played1978 ALPG Debbie Austin213Manly15,0001977 ALPG Jan Stephenson145 Manly 15,0001976 ALPG Donna Caponi Young206 Victoria 15,0001975 ALPG JoAnne Carner228The Australian15,0001974 ALPG Chako Higuchi219 Victoria 10,000 Notes

Course record YearCoursePlayerScoreTo par 2016 Grange Golf Club SooBin Kim 63 −9

Women's Australian Open

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