The second stop on the DP World Tour's mini-swing Down Under - following immediately after the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane - has been taking place this week with the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Royal Melbourne Golf Club is one of the premier courses in Australia and has staged a fantastic event so far, with record crowds of over 100,000 turning out to watch the action at some point throughout the week.
Many of those fans have turned up to watch Rory McIlroy, who safely made it through to the weekend but was nine shots off the pace by the end of the third round. Meanwhile, the likes of Si Woo Kim, Cameron Smith, Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott, were sniffing around the lead after 54 holes.
However, it was one of the less glamorous names in the field, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who was closing in on his maiden DP World Tour win after a third round of 66 left him on 14 under, two ahead of Kim, Smith and Carlos Ortiz.
Whoever puts themselves in contention for top spot down the back nine on Sunday will likely be pushed right to the end given it's not just prize money on offer for the champion this week, there are also valuable spots at two Majors.
Whoever triumphs on Sunday will be given starts at both The Masters and The Open Championship next year. Additionally, the next two highest players who are not already exempt for The Open will qualify for Royal Birkdale via this tournament.
And then there's the immediate financial incentive for players. Increased from AUD $1.75 million in 2024, there is a grand total of AUD $2 million (US $1.33m) on offer at Royal Melbourne in 2025.
The winner will earn AUD $340,000 (circa US $225,000) as well as those two Major berths while the runner-up should scoop AUD $220,000 (US $146,000) and a spot at The Open. If third-place finishes alone, they will also head to Royal Birkdale and bank a check for AUD $126,000 (US $83,600).
Check out the complete prize money payout for the 2025 Australian Open, with the maximum amount listed in Australian Dollars for each position, based on 70 pros making the cut and before ties are taken into account.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN
Position |
Prize Money |
|---|---|
1st |
AU$340,000 |
2nd |
AU$220,000 |
3rd |
AU$126,000 |
4th |
AU$100,000 |
5th |
AU$84,800 |
6th |
AU$70,000 |
7th |
AU$60,000 |
8th |
AU$50,000 |
9th |
AU$44,800 |
10th |
AU$40,000 |
11th |
AU$36,800 |
12th |
AU$34,400 |
13th |
AU$32,200 |
14th |
AU$30,600 |
15th |
AU$29,400 |
16th |
AU$28,200 |
17th |
AU$27,000 |
18th |
AU$25,800 |
19th |
AU$24,800 |
20th |
AU$24,000 |
21st |
AU$23,200 |
22nd |
AU$22,600 |
23rd |
AU$22,000 |
24th |
AU$21,400 |
25th |
AU$20.800 |
26th |
AU$20,200 |
27th |
AU$19,600 |
28th |
AU$19,000 |
29th |
AU$18,400 |
30th |
AU$17,800 |
31st |
AU$17,200 |
32nd |
AU$16,600 |
33rd |
AU$16,000 |
34th |
AU$15,400 |
35th |
AU$14,800 |
36th |
AU$14,200 |
37th |
AU$13,800 |
38th |
AU$13,400 |
39th |
AU$13,000 |
40th |
AU$12,600 |
41st |
AU$12,200 |
42nd |
AU$11,800 |
43rd |
AU$11,400 |
44th |
AU$11,000 |
45th |
AU$10,600 |
46th |
AU$10,200 |
47th |
AU$9,800 |
48th |
AU$9,400 |
49th |
AU$9,000 |
50th |
AU$8,600 |
51st |
AU$8,200 |
52nd |
AU$7,800 |
53rd |
AU$7,400 |
54th |
AU$7,000 |
55th |
AU$6,800 |
56th |
AU$6,600 |
57th |
AU$6,400 |
58th |
AU$6,200 |
59th |
AU$6,000 |
60th |
AU$5.800 |
61st |
AU$5,600 |
62nd |
AU$5,400 |
63rd |
AU$5,200 |
64th |
AU$5,000 |
65th |
AU$4,800 |
66th |
AU$4,600 |
67th |
AU$4,400 |
68th |
AU$4,200 |
69th |
AU$4,000 |
70th |
AU$3,800 |
