ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open Winners and History

ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open Winners and History

Currently co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA, the Women’s Australian Open’s history extends back to 1974 when it was a 54 hole event. The original incarnation of the tournament lasted only until 1978. It was revived in 1978, and was notable for two events: Annika Sorenstams first professional win and Karrie Webb’s professional debut.

Webb would later win the event five times.

The 1999 tournament was missed due to a scheduling change which moved the tournament from November to February. Th change was necessary to place it near the ANZ Ladies Masters so both could be part of the Ladies European Tour.

The Ladies European Tour began co-sanctioning the event in 2000. The tournament’s checkered history continued, however, has sponsorship difficulties resulted in the cancellation of the 2005 and 2006 editions. The LPGA co-sanctioned the event in 2012, which coincided with an increase in the purse to $1.3 million in 2013, and the prize fixed in US dollars.  Since 2011, the tournament’s the tournament’s name sponsor has been ISPS Handa.

The 2012 tournament was played at the Composite Course at Royal Melbourne, the championship course comprising 12 holes from the West course and six from the East course. The Composite Course is considered one of the top courses in the world, and was used for the Presidents Cup competitions in 1998 and 2011.

ISPS Handa is the International Sports Promotion Society, founded and funded by Japanese philanthropist Dr. Haruhisa Handa in 2006. Its goal is to support charitable causes throughout the sporting world and has fostered partnerships with golf governing bodies worldwide to help develop the game at every level and promote blind and disabled golf.

Dr. Handa is an interesting character. Born in 1951, he operates more than a dozen companies in Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom. He has degrees in economics, vocal music, creative arts and a literature. As you might expect, he is an author, who has written more than 220 books that have been translated into seven languages. Some of the best sellers include “Secrets for running a Small Business”, “Understanding Japan” and “Lucky Fortune” – of which more than a million copies have been sold.

A list of ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open Winners follows:

Year	Champion	Country	Score
2020	Inbee Park	South Korea	278 (-14)
2019	Nellie Korda	United States	271 (-17)
2018	Ko Jin-young	South Korea	274 (−14)
2017	Jang Ha-na	South Korea	282 (−10)
2016	Haru Nomura	Japan	272 (−16)
2015	Lydia Ko	New Zealand	283 (−9)
2014	Karrie Webb (5)	Australia	276 (−12)
2013	Jiyai Shin	South Korea	274 (−18)
2012	Jessica Korda	United States	289 (−3)PO
2011	Yani Tseng (2)	Taiwan	276 (−16)
2010	Yani Tseng (1)	Taiwan	283 (−9)
2009	Laura Davies (2)	England	285 (−7)
2008	Karrie Webb (4)	Australia	284 (−8)PO
2007	Karrie Webb (3)	Australia	278 (−10)
2005–06: Not played
2004	Laura Davies (1)	England	283 (−5)
2003	Mhairi McKay	Scotland	277 (−11)
2002	Karrie Webb (2)	Australia	278 (−10)PO
2001	Sophie Gustafson	Sweden	276 (−12)
2000	Karrie Webb (1)	Australia	270 (−22)
1999	Tournament moved from November (1998) to February (2000)
1998	Marnie McGuire	New Zealand	280 (−12)
1997	Jane Crafter	Australia	279 (−13)
1996	Catriona Matthew	Scotland	283 (−9)
1995	Liselotte Neumann	Sweden	283 (−9)
1994	Annika Sörenstam	Sweden	286 (−10)
1979–93: Not played
1978	Debbie Austin	United States	213
1977	Jan Stephenson	Australia	145
1976	Donna Caponi Young	United States	206
1975	JoAnne Carner	United States	228
1974	Chako Higuchi	Japan	219