The 2021 Men’s Australian Open, originally scheduled to be played at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney in November and then pushed back to early 2022, has also been cancelled.

Golf Australia announced the decision today, saying that it would begin planning for a return of the two Opens in the 2022-23 summer of golf.

The Women’s Australian Open was set for Kooyonga Golf Club in Adelaide’s western suburbs in February, 2022.

The 2021 event at Kooyonga was also cancelled after successful events at The Grange and Royal Adelaide the previous two years.

The four-day tournament is part of the global LPGA tour and regularly attracts the world’s best female golfers.

It has been played in Adelaide since 2016.

“The decision has not been made lightly but we believe it to be the right outcome under the current circumstances,” said James Sutherland, the Golf Australia Chief Executive.

“The international element means shifting quarantine and travel restrictions wreak havoc on planning and, with our marquee players living abroad, the challenge is even greater.

“The pressure and risk on host venues and organisers is also high – these are small businesses who have already faced huge disruption due to the pandemic.”

Golf Australia’s General Manager Events and Operations, Therese Magdulski, said it became increasingly apparent as the tournament dates loomed that it would not be possible to run them because of the restrictions in place.

Magdulski said public health concerns and continued uncertainty over travel also played their part as the virus continues to flare around Australia.

“When we decided back in June that we’d try to get these tournaments to run again, we weren’t even dealing with the Delta variant,” she said.

“Everything’s changed since then, and it can change again. In the end these are incredibly hard decisions and it’s terribly disappointing for everyone in the industry, but we’ve tried hard to make it happen, and it has not come together as we’d like.

“These are marquee events on the golf calendar, and we want to make sure when we bring them to life, they are the best they can be for all involved.”

Golf Australia still intends to run the men’s and women’s Vic Open at 13th Beach on the Bellarine Peninsula from February 10-13, albeit without international tour sanctioning.

The 2022 Men’s Australian Open will be at Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne in November-December, before returning to The Australian in 2023.

“We’re thankful to The Australian, which continues to be a loyal supporter of our men’s event,” said Magdulski.

“We are also grateful for the support of Kooyonga Golf Club in our preparations to date for the women’s event.”