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This edition of the Australian Open sparked a frenzy that Melbourne hadn’t witnessed in years. Long before sunrise, fans were already lining up outside Royal Melbourne. All this madness was just to catch a glimpse of the Masters champion, Rory McIlroy, as he teed off in his first appearance at the event in a decade. Seeing the enthusiasm, fans across the globe reiterated their demand. It was high time for Australia to have its very own official PGA tour event. 

More than 2,000 spectators were waiting at the gates at 6:30 am. When the gates were finally opened, a swelling crowd rushed in. On a weekday, fans have chosen to honor the presence of the Northern Irish icon by quietly ditching their daily routine. Even students and office-goers, too, lined up for Rory to show up on the fairways. And when he did, fans welcomed him with a loud wave of cheers. 

Right after the opening round of the Australian Open concluded, Rory McIlroy shared his assessment of the round. And he started by saying, “It was a rollercoaster day. I felt like any time I made a birdie or two, I’d then make a bogey or two, and it was just one of the, it felt like one of those days, it was like okay, what side of par am I gonna finish on? Am I gonna be under or over?” But the reception from the fans on a chilly December morning stunned the five-time Majors champion, too.

Acknowledging the enthusiasm of the fans and their warm welcome, he added, “It was amazing I couldn’t believe how many people were there at 7 o’clock when we teed off but yeah just absolutely incredible it’s you know these are the you know there’s you know there’s events in golf that just mean a little bit more and I think everyone in Australia takes so much pride and in their national open and you can really see that and you can feel it”. With the cheers of the fans, every hole he played became a celebration. Even as his round swung between brilliant birdies and unexpected bogeys, the energy never dipped.

However, he seemed to face a fair bit of struggle in his first competitive round at Royal Melbourne. McIlroy shot a 1-over 72 and was tied at  57th along with many others. Reflecting on it, he added, “…ended up being over but it wasn’t wasn’t terrible. I headed in a couple of bad spots and then you know a couple of early three putts as well and it was but it was it was tricky conditions like it’s not it’s not as if anyone’s really getting away out there so limited the damage and hopefully the conditions are a little bit better tomorrow and can get after it a bit more.”

For many, simply being there to witness one of golf’s biggest stars tackle Royal Melbourne’s winds felt like a special moment worth the early alarms and hurried commutes. And to honor their love and devotion towards the sport, the Northern Irish PGA star’s fans across online platforms are rooting for the PGA Tour to host an official event in Australia.

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Fans push for PGA Tour event in Australia following Rory McIlroy’s ‘rollercoaster’ opening round

Sharing the scorecard of the first round of the Australian Open, where Rory can be spotted going even par, the official X handle of the No Laying Up podcast shared an image of McIlroy taking a shot on the course surrounded by the enthusiastic Australian fans. The post was captioned, “Awesome scene”. One fan took to the comment section of the same post and wrote, “Make the PGA a traveling worldwide major!”

Referring to how fans made the Australian Open a grand event with their enthusiasm, one netizen mentioned what a magnificent scene it would be if Australia gets to witness a Major every year in the early winter. Expressing their thoughts, they added, “Imagine a Major Championship in Australia every year (November/December time) alternating between Royal Melbourne and Kingston Heath 🤤🤤 Having only 1 Major outside America is mad.”

Another golf fan admitted how they have always been skeptical of the thought of changing the major championship landscape. But they added that watching such a marvelous scenario unfold in Melbourne, they are convinced that it is indeed possible. “I’ve always been suspicious about the idea of changing major championship landscape, but watching this I absolutely believe we can throw out the PGA championship and replace it with anything near this event and it be a net gain for the golf world”, said the X user.

Echoing the same thoughts, another fan exaggerated how the PGA Tour must take their request of hosting an event in Australia in consideration. “pga tour needs to take a tournament there.  prime time. make it a min through thursday.  week off before and after.  played can take families and do a semi vaca like they do hawaii”, read the comment. 

Another netizen commented and shared how witnessing the crowd and their warm gestures felt as if it were a scene from a Masters. The fan wrote, “Legit thought this was a Masters replay screenshot. National Opens clear 👏”. Australian fans have indeed proven how much they love the sport and adore Rory McIlroy. Now, it’s for time to tell if the PGA Tour truly decides to host a Major in the ‘Sunburnt Country’.