THE WA Open heads south and to the City of Rockingham for the first time in its history when Secret Harbour Golf Links hosts the championship later this year.
The 102nd staging will take place from October 15-18, the tournament once again forming part of the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia schedule.
Owned by TenGolf Group and located just a pitching wedge away from the Indian Ocean, the Graham Marsh-designed layout at Secret Harbour was built on undulating natural dunes to offer a true links golf experience.
It is routinely considered to be amowgst Australia’s best public golf courses, ranking 69th in Inside Golf’s top 100 public access course listings.
In announcing Secret Harbour as WA Open host for 2026, Arron Minchin, Chief Executive for GolfWA, said its accessibility is part of the appeal.
From left, Kim Felton from PGA Australia, Ben Sweeney, General Manager of Secret Harbour Golf Links, City of Rockingham Mayor Lorna Buchan and Golf WA CEO Arron Minchin announcing Secret Harbour as the venue for the 2026 WA Open.
“Providing opportunities for more people to play golf in all its formats is central to what we do at GolfWA. We’re grateful to TenGolf for hosting this year’s championship and very excited to be staging our premier event at a truly public facility,” he said.
“Secret Harbour is an outstanding golf course, and the fact that anyone can book a tee time here is a great example of how accessible the game of golf really can be.”
Kim Felton, Tour Development Manager for the PGA of Australia and a three-time WA Open champion himself, added that the venue ticks all the boxes tour members would be looking for.
“As a first-time host of a Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia event, Secret Harbour will present a fantastic championship test,” he said.
“There are several risk-and-reward holes that will make for extremely exciting golf, and when the wind gets up, it will challenge even the very best of our Australasian professionals.”
First staged in 1913, the WA Open has a star-studded roll of honour, with past winners including Major champions Gary Player (1956), Greg Norman (1986), Kel Nagle (1950, 1951, 1952) and Ian Baker-Finch (1984).
Other past champions include PGA Tour winner Ryan Fox, LIV Golf star Elvis Smylie (2024), plus WA golfing icons Terry Gale, Stephen Leaney, Graham Marsh and Brett Rumford also have their names on the historic trophy.
South Africa’s Oliver Bekker is the defending champion after topping a high-quality field at Mount Lawley GC that included Aussie LIV Golf superstar Marc Leishman.
The WA Open is the second leg of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s early-season ‘WA swing’, coming a week after the WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie.
Players will compete for a total prize fund of at least $450,000 at the two events, which form part of the build-up to the Australian ‘Summer of Golf’, highlighted by the Australian PGA Championship and men’s Australian Open in November and December.
The post The ‘Secret’ is out: WA Open heading south first appeared on Inside Golf. Australia's Most-Read Golf Magazine as named by Australian Golfers - FREE.
Article Link: https://www.insidegolf.com.au/news/pga-of-australia/the-secret-is-out-wa-open-heading-south/