MELBOURNE: With five-times major champion Rory McIlroy leading the field and a return to Royal Melbourne for the first time since 1991, there is a genuine sense of excitement about the 108th playing of the Australian Open. Golf Australia earlier this year dumped the groundbreaking mixed men’s, women’s and all-abilities format that was introduced in 2022, leaving Australia’s oldest and most prestigious tournament once again the sole center of attention.
The tournament, which these days is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, counts golfing greats Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player among its former winners.
Masters champion McIlroy already has his name etched on the Stonehaven Cup after beating Adam Scott in a playoff at Royal Sydney in 2013 and the Northern Irishman said he was excited to be back in Australia.
“It hasn’t been a secret that I’ve wanted to come back ... (and) the change in the format, going back to the traditional Australian Open has probably helped,” he told reporters on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday’s opening round.
“It just feels like this country is starved of top level golf. Obviously, you’ve had Presidents Cups come down here and you’ve had a lot of good players still come through, but maybe just not on a consistent basis.
“And I think a market like this, with amazing fans and the history that it does have, probably deserves more of a consistency of big players and big tournaments.”
Major winners Cam Smith and Scott are expected to lead the home charge to get the Stonehaven Cup back into Australian hands for the first time since Matt Jones won his second title in 2019.
Min Woo Lee and Karl Vilips, a PGA Tour winner in his rookie season, are other local contenders, while Britain’s former Masters champion Danny Willett and 2023 Australian Open winner Joaquin Niemann are among the international challengers.
Former Masters champion Scott won the title in 2009 but said to win it at the world-renowned sandbelt course would be extra special.
“I think winning the Aussie Open at Royal Melbourne has one of those asterisks next to it, where it’s just that little bit more meaningful,” the 45-year-old said.
Former British Open champion Smith, who has endured a horror run of form in recent months, was one of the main critics of the mixed tournament, arguing that conditions had been made easier to help the women.
“There was a lot of back-and-forth throughout the last couple of years, and I think everyone’s pretty happy with the result,” he said.
“Everyone’s talking about the Aussie Open again, which is what we wanted.”
McIlroy headlines as Australian Open goes back to basics at Royal Melbourne
https://arab.news/rejsz
McIlroy headlines as Australian Open goes back to basics at Royal Melbourne
- Australian Open returns to traditional format, dropping mixed tournament
- McIlroy excited to compete at Royal Melbourne after format change
Last-minute VAR review saves Al-Ahli as they go top of SPL with victory over Damac
- Al-Ahli’s 1-0 victory against Damac lifts them to first place on 56 points, with Al-Nassr (55) and Al-Hilal (54) yet to play this week
- Al-Qadsiah keep the pressure on, moving to 53 points after 4-0 victory in Eastern Province Derby against Al-Ettifaq
DAMMAM: If anything has taken over the Saudi Pro League’s fan sentiment this season, it’s one line: “the league is being lined up for [insert title challenger here]”. Under every post by broadcaster Thmanyah on X showing a VAR review in favour of one of the title challengers, the sentiment remains the same.
It is why Al-Ahli’s 1-0 victory over Damac in the delayed Matchday 10 opener was quite controversial. The match, highlighted by three goals that had to be checked by VAR in the first half and a last-minute equaliser revoked due to VAR, was no easy task for the Greens.
After all, it isn’t like Damac are easy opposition. Mired in the relegation battle this season with only two wins in 23 games, any casual viewer would think this is an easy three points for the big clubs.
While Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal have all beaten Damac this season, the reality remains that the Knights of the South have only lost seven games out of 27 when facing the Big Four at home since their promotion to the SPL.
Al-Ahli in particular have struggled against Damac. It wasn’t until last season that they secured their first victory in Khamis Mushait. Their previous outings ended with little to celebrate, with late equalisers and winners proving a nightmare for Al-Ahli’s large fanbase in the south.
Despite the victory, Al-Ahli’s struggles against Damac continued. They were lucky not to trail early when the hosts’ first-minute goal was rescinded for offside, and Damac did their best to ensure Matthias Jaissle’s side did not get comfortable.
Whether it was through overloading the space behind Rayan Hamed through Yakou Méïté and Dhari Al-Anezi, or the marauding runs of Morlaye Sylla to pull Zakaria Hawsawi out of position, Damac did their best to ensure Al-Ahli were as uncomfortable as they could possibly be.
On the defensive end, their 5-4-1 box shape prevented Al-Ahli from launching the long balls they’ve been particularly successful with in behind the defence. On one occasion it succeeded, although Ivan Toney was caught offside as he chipped the ball past Kewin.
Al-Ahli would get their goal in the 37th minute. A scramble in the box after a free-kick was delivered by Wenderson Galeno saw Franck Kessié capitalise on a loose ball to open the scoring.
While half-time analysts predicted Damac would continue in a deep block and refrain from taking risks, the reality was starkly different on the pitch. Damac took full control of proceedings after the interval. After all, a result was a must if they intended to escape the relegation zone, however temporary that may be.
The 71st minute saw them give Al-Ahli their biggest scare of the night. After a corner was cleared away from the Al-Ahli defence, Damac’s Abdulrahman Al-Obaid struck a volley from range only for Mendy to produce an acrobatic save to maintain the lead.
Despite holding a valuable lead at a tough stadium, Jaissle’s only substitution until the 88th minute was the inclusion of Feras Al-Brikan in place of Enzo Millot. Al-Ahli’s goal difference remains some way behind Al-Nassr (+39) and Al-Hilal (+37), with Jaissle’s side sitting at +30.
Mendy was ultimately the star of the night for Al-Ahli. An 89th-minute save after Syrian youngster Mohammed Al-Salkhadi wriggled his way to a clear shooting position sent Al-Ahli fans into celebration.
Or so everyone thought. A free-kick deep into stoppage time saw Méïté sneak past the Al-Ahli defence to head in what looked like an equaliser. Al-Ahli’s players immediately pushed for a VAR review, with the referee ultimately ruling out the goal for offside.
Méïté, angered by the decision, approached the referee seconds before full-time in protest. Tensions spilled over on the pitch, with Toney and Jamal Harkass clashing after the disallowed goal.
Tensions continued to flare as the final whistle blew, but Al-Ahli got what they needed: three points and a temporary spot at the top at one of the toughest grounds in the Saudi Pro League.
In Dammam, the Eastern Province’s flagship derby between Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ettifaq took place at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahad Stadium, with the home side looking to keep pressure on the title challengers.
The visitors have enjoyed a period of subtle, gradual improvement since Saudi manager Saad Al-Shehri replaced Steven Gerrard last year. Finding themselves in seventh place before the game with a chance to leapfrog Al-Ittihad and Al-Taawoun, those chances were quickly extinguished within the first 10 minutes.
Al-Qadsiah, already establishing themselves as this season’s dark horses in search of their maiden Saudi Pro League title, continued the high-quality football they’ve enjoyed since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers.
Yet to be defeated under the former Liverpool manager, the Knights of the Eastern Province blitzed to a 2-0 lead before Al-Ettifaq could settle into the game.
Nahitan Nández was the star behind this dominance. In the third minute, he slipped in behind João Costa to receive one of Musab Al-Juwayr’s trademark line-breaking passes and score the opener. Four minutes later, he exploited that space again to create Christopher Bonsu Baah’s goal, once more getting behind Costa thanks to a threaded pass from Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat.
This was Al-Qadsiah at their best, but the reality is, it could have been more. Eight big chances, 20 shots and an xG of 2.83 meant a 2-0 scoreline until stoppage time felt relatively underwhelming given their attacking dominance.
For Al-Ettifaq, it didn’t help that they were missing the services of Mousa Dembélé and Álvaro Medrán through injury and starboy Khalid Al-Ghannam through suspension, limiting their attacking threat.
Matija Gluščević and Koka — deputising for the absent Dembélé and Al-Ghannam — had made only six starts between them this season, with no goal contributions.
It is why Al-Ettifaq looked a shadow of the side that held Al-Nassr to a draw and defeated Al-Ittihad earlier this season. If anything, it resembled how the side looked under Gerrard: unorganised and uninspired.
The fact remains, Al-Qadsiah are a star-studded team with a manager who — until now — has managed them exceptionally well. Their rivals, meanwhile, have yet to return to former glories, and currently resemble more of an upper mid-table side in the landscape of Saudi football today.
A red card was shown to Abdullah Al-Khateeb late on, further compounding Al-Ettifaq’s misery. The hosts added a third in stoppage time, with Julian Quiñones capitalising on a weak save from Marek Rodák to tap in his 22nd goal of the season.
A first goal in an Al-Qadsiah shirt for Julian Weigl followed, as he unleashed a long-range strike past Rodák to seal a dominant victory. If there’s anything this match proved, it’s that — in spite of former glories — Al-Qadsiah are the Eastern Province’s current standard-bearers.
Elsewhere, Al-Shabab continue to enjoy life under new manager Nourredine Ben Zekri with an emphatic 3-1 win against Al-Riyadh. Yannick Carrasco, continuing his stellar run of form since the turn of the year, scored a hat-trick to increase his goal contributions to 15 in 11 games in 2026. Meanwhile, Al-Fateh finally ended their streak of eight games without a win after edging past Al-Okhdood 2-1.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Tuesday, with Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal travelling to Qassim to face Al-Hazem and Al-Taawoun respectively, as Al-Khaleej welcome Al-Kholood in Dammam. All games kick off at 10:00pm in the league’s unified Ramadan schedule.
