Date War Down Under!

Peter Stone with all the dynamics in play as the Australian Open lands the sport before next year's Presidents Cup while the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath gets the week after, which is likely to be the same week as Tiger's Chevron World Challenge.

In announcing yesterday that the Open would precede the Cup with the Australia PGA to be played at Coolum following the Cup series at Royal Melbourne, PGA of Australia's chief executive officer Max Garske said the decision was made in the best interests of Australian golf and the PGA. "With the focus of the golfing world set firmly on Melbourne come mid-November, it is a given that the Presidents Cup will offer up a number of benefits to events falling on either side," Garske said.