The 2022 ISPS Handa Australian Open format is new and unique this year, with the Golf Australia event played at Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia.
The 2022 ISPS Handa Australian Open field is 256 players, with a field of 144 men and 108 women competing in simultaneous events on the same two courses. There is also an all-abilities event playing out at the same time.
The ISPS Handa Australian Open field is made up of some of the best golfers in the world, male and female, competing for equal AUD$1.7 million purses.
ISPS Handa Australian Open format
The ISPS Handa Australian Open format is a 72-hole event. The field is divided into threesomes for the first two rounds. The same threesomes play together in each of the first two rounds, with each threesome getting one round of both of the host courses -- one in the morning wave, one in the afternoon wave.
Men and women are competing in separate groups but are competing on the same courses at the same time.
A cut is made after 36 holes to the top 60 players and ties for both events, the Australian Open and Women's Australian Open. A cut is also made after the third round to the top 35 players and ties in Australian Open and Women's Australian Open. There is no cut in the all-abilities tournament.
For the third and fourth rounds, the pairings and tee times are made based on each player's total score through two and three rounds, respectively. Players with the highest total score go first, then in descending order until the two players with the lowest total score in the final group.
In all three events, the player with the lowest total score after 72 holes is the winner and will earn the 2022 ISPS Handa Australian Open winner's share of the purse.
The winning player will earn Official World Golf Ranking points in the Australian Open and Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking points in the Women's Australian Open.
ISPS Handa Australian Open playoff format
A playoff to settle any ties after 72 holes will be played under PGA Tour rules. The ISPS Handa Australian Open playoff format is a sudden-death format, with playoff holes being 18 played by any qualifying players. The players compete hole-by-hole until a winner is determined by a player scoring the lowest among the remaining players.
