Women's Australian Open
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| Location |
 Australia, variesSeaton, South Australia in 2017 |
|---|---|
| Established | 1974, 43 years ago |
| Course(s) | Royal Adelaide Golf Club |
| Par | 73 |
| Length | 6,115 m (6,687 yd) |
| Tour(s) |
ALPG Tour LPGA Tour |
| Format | Stroke play - 72 holes |
| Prize fund | US$1.3 million |
| Month played | February |
| Aggregate | 270 Karrie Webb (2000) |
| To par | −22 Karrie Webb (2000) |
 Jang Ha-na
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The Women's Australian Open is a women's professional golf tournament played in Australia, operated by Golf Australia and the ALPG Tour, long co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET). Beginning with the 2012 event, it is also co-sanctioned by the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. In 2008, it was the second-richest women's golf tournament on the ALPG Tour, with a prize fund of A$500,000, and was raised to A$600,000 in 2010. With the co-sanctioning by the LPGA, the total purse was nearly doubled, and was also fixed in U.S. dollars. The purse was US$1.1 million in 2012, and increased again to its current level of US$1.2 million for 2013. Since 2011, the tournament's name has been the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open.
The Australian Ladies Open was founded in 1974 as a 54-hole event, but folded after 1978. It was resurrected in 1994 as the Women's Australian Open, this time as a 72-hole event. Annika Sörenstam won that year, which was her first professional win. It was also Karrie Webb's professional debut, and she would later win the event five times. Starting in 2000, the Ladies European Tour began co-sanctioning the tournament. Following the 2004 event, sponsorship difficulties caused the tournament to stop once again, but after a two-year hiatus the tournament returned in 2007. The Women's Australian Open usually moves between various courses around Australia, except from 1995 through 2002 when it was held at the Yarra Yarra Golf Club in Melbourne. The 2008 event was held at Kingston Heath Golf Club.
For several years after its return in 1994, the Women's Australian Open was played early in the ALPG schedule, usually in November. Starting in 2000, it was changed to be played at the end of the schedule in February near the ANZ Ladies Masters, to allow both tournaments to be part of the Ladies European Tour. Since the Women's Australian Open was played from 12–15 November 1998 during the 1998/1999 ALPG season, it was therefore not played during the 1999 calendar year.
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