For a country of just 23 million people, Australia has certainly produced its share of highly successful athletes in all sports. Tennis legend Rod Laver may be the biggest name of all, but Australian golfers have certainly made their mark on the international scene.
As a footnote to the headline, it appears that the chant “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie…Oi, Oi, Oi!” is relatively new. It’s a variation of the chant, “Oggy, Oggy, Oggy…Oi, Oi, Oi!” which has been used in the U.K. for a number of years in many venues. The first record of Australians modifying it into its present day form occurred in 1987, and by the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, it was commonplace.
The past
Organized golf got a big boost in Australia in 1898, when the Australian Golf Union was formed at Royal Melbourne Golf Club that October. The Union was formed in order to promote the game, establish championships, and was also instrumental in the development of junior golf and establishing a system of training. Among the first golfers to bear fruit from these efforts were H.A. Howden, Michael Scott, and Dan Soutar. Howden won the Australian Amateur championship four times, including three consecutively from 1896-1898. Scott won the inaugural Australian Open in 1904, and Soutar captured the Amateur championship in 1903. Other prominent golfers who soon followed included Carnegie Clark, Ivo Whitten, and Joe Kirkwood.
Kirkwood was the first Australian golfer to make a splash on the international scene. He won on the American circuit in 1923 at the Houston Invitational, later to become the Houston Open, and won 13 times on what today is considered the PGA Tour.
Norm Von Nida was the next prominent Australian professional. A revered figure, Von Nida dominated golf in Britain in the 1940s. The Australian developmental tour is named after him, the Von Nida Tour.
No discussion of Australian golf can go without mentioning Peter Thomson. He won five British Open championships, and later dominated the US Senior Tour in 1985 with nine victories. He was inducted into the golf Hall of Fame in 1988.
Jim Ferrier, David Graham, Kel Nagle, and Ian Baker-Finch, among others, would go on to win professional major championships, but none had the impact that The Shark, Greg Norman, had. Although he wound up winning “only” two majors (many say he should have won far more), Norman became an international icon, and held the #1-ranked position for a total of 331 weeks – in other words, over six years.
As for the ladies, Jan Stephenson was the first Australian golfer to become internationally prominent. She won 16 times on the LPGA Tour, including three major championships – a record that, if she were a man, would most certainly have her in the golf Hall of Fame. But because the LPGA Tour has far stricter performance standards than do the men, she remains on the outside looking in.
The present
If you take Australia’s population of 23 million and compare it to the populations of the main golf areas of the world, you would find that Australia is clearly over-represented in the arena of professional golf. There are 14 Australians who had U.S. tour privileges in 2013-2014, which is twice as many as there should have been if you go strictly by the numbers. The Land Down Under enjoys an active athletic population and an ideal climate for outdoor sports, which helps explain why so many Australians are on the Tour.
At this writing, Adam Scott is the top-ranked Aussie in the world. Another is Jason Day, who so far has yet to reach the enormous promise many think he holds…but he certainly steps up his game for the majors. Greg Chalmers was the top-ranked putter on Tour in 2013, and John Senden is considered one of the top ball strikers in the world. Aaron Baddeley has won several times, including winning the Australian Open as a teenage amateur.
Karrie Webb continues to be the biggest Australian star in the women’s game, while Sarah Kemp, Katherine Kirk, and Sarah Jane Smith also represent the southern hemisphere nation.
The future
With Scott’s breakthrough Masters victory in 2013, more Australians are sure to win the Green Jacket in years to come, as well as other major championships. Some names to watch for in the coming years include Zac Stolz, Harrison Endycott, Isaac Noh, Kevin Yuan, and Charlie Pilon. Girl players who may have an impact down the road are Shelly Shin and Celina Yuan.
Whatever the future may hold, you can be sure Australian golfers will be there on the main stage. If past history is any indication, there is no reason to think any different.
