The Australian Open golf championship will switch back to Royal Sydney next year after two years at fellow Sydney club The Australian.
Golf Australia announced on Sunday that Royal Sydney would take over as tournament host for 2016, its 15th staging of the Open and first since 2013 when Rory McIlroy pipped Adam Scott in a famous final-day shootout.
With the Open already committed to stay in Sydney for at least six of the next eight years in a deal with the NSW Government, Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt said he aimed to announce a plan about host clubs further into the future as soon as possible.
Pitt said GA would be talking with four Sydney venues - Royal Sydney, The Australian, NSW GC and The Lakes - to finalise a schedule for the subsequent seven years, while "evaluating the opportunities" for out-of-state venues for two so-called release years.
The four clubs had all excelled as hosts since the Open returned to Sydney in 2006, he said.
With the Australian Masters in Victoria and the Australian PGA in Queensland, keeping the Open in Sydney keeps the sport's traditional big three tournaments and other big events well spread across the nation.
"We've seen the Australian Open go from strength to strength in the last five or six years. We're real proud of how it's worked in Sydney and how it's grown," Pitt said.
"The geographical balance has worked really well, especially when you put Perth International into that mix and the Women's Open has gone to Adelaide as well, so all of our bases are covered."
Pitt said the fact that Royal Sydney plans alterations and renovations after 2016, the outcome of which are uncertain, factored into the decision to play the tournament there while it was possible.
McIlroy's 2013 win at Royal Sydney kickstarted a year in which the Northern Irishman won two majors and became world No.1.
Similarly Jordan Spieth's win at The Australian last year set him on the path to two majors and world No.1 this year.
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