Tiger Woods has left the door open for Australian Open organisers to entice golf's biggest names to play their tournament in the lead up to the 2019 Presidents Cup.
Woods was unveiled this week as captain of the American side for the December 9-15 showpiece at Royal Melbourne.
The 14-time major winner could headline a bevy of American superstars vying for the Stonehaven Cup in Sydney if he decides to become just the second playing captain in the event's history.
While dates for the 2019 Open at The Australian Golf Club have not been finalised, the national championship was held the week before the 1998 and 2011 Cup editions at Royal Melbourne.
Woods finished third behind winner Greg Chalmers at the 2011 Open and was joined in the field at The Lakes by five American teammates, including Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson.
Woods believes it helped the visitors smash the Internationals 19-15 and would like to see a similar preparation from his team next year.
"Yeah if they want to (play the Australian Open); whatever is best for their game," Woods told AAP on Wednesday.
"I just want them not to be like most of our team in 1998, when the Tour Championship ended in early November and the guys didn't play for a month."
In 1998, just two American team members contested the Open at Royal Adelaide before the Internationals won their only Cup title the following week.
"They took some time off (after) a long season and we weren't ready as a team when we went down there in '98," Woods said.
"But we were ready in 2011 and the guys responded and played well, so hopefully that'll be the case (next year)."
Woods says the biggest obstacle to playing the Australian Open is his foundation's Hero World Challenge event, which is typically held around the same time and attracts the big guns.
"We're still trying to figure out the dates of the Hero," Woods said.
"Once it's finalised, I can start making plans for which way we are going to go (with the Australian Open) or if I'll encourage guys to go.
"But it's a long way away."
Helping the Golf Australia tournament's push to lure the stars is an earlier end to the 2019 US golf season.
The US PGA Championship will be brought forward from August to May, while the Players Championship will return to its March date.
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