Who cares about the Australian Order of Merit?

Just last week during the Australian Open I thought to myself “Geez, they go on about the Australian Order of Merit a lot”. But no one ever really explains why. Does it mean much if you finish first or second? Why is it only the players and tournament big wigs seem to know much about it? Well here is the low down.

Finishing high up in the overall World Golf Rankings at certain times of the year gets you in to a load of big tournaments. Finishing in the World Top 50 by the end of the year gets you a pass to the US Masters which is why it is so important Michael Sim does well this week. He currently sits in 50th spot. A good show this week at Coolum and he’ll be at Augusta. Adam Scott, Robert Allenby and Geoff Ogilvy will also get their invitations.

The PGA of Australia Order of Merit may not be as lucrative or rewarding as finishing high up in the World Golf Rankings or golf tours, it does have its rewards. For example, the leading three players are exempt into the final stage of European Tour and US PGA Tour qualifying and get an invitation into the CA Championship.

There are more exemptions for those further down the list a little such as, the leading 12 players get a spot in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship but it gets better. The top two players get a spot in the US Open Championship and the winner receives an invitation to The Open Championship.

So there is a fair bit of stake this week at Coolum. It is a pity these sort of details aren’t disclosed a lot more to show the importance of the tour and this weekend particularly.

One thought on “Who cares about the Australian Order of Merit?

  • Thanks for that info, Michael. With so many “races” on the different tours, it’s hard to keep up with what’s at stake.

    Reply

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