Golf Tips Handbook: Your Free Guide Awaits

Unlock our Exclusive Golf Tips Handbook- a curated collection of the smartest, most practical lessons we’ve published this year.

Download now

Just before the 2025 Crown Australian Open kicks off, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott sat down this week, intending to relive the drama of their iconic 2013 Australian Open showdown. The two battled head-to-head for nearly ten holes until McIlroy ultimately claimed the title. But that memory at the press conference revealed something previously unknown.

Scott reflected on how a bad 8-iron shot left the door open for McIlroy to snatch the title away ultimately.

“A bit of a heartbreaker…,” Adam Scott quipped, a particularly heartbreaking loss because he was entering the final day chasing a triple crown, winning the Masters earlier that year and the Australian PGA Championship the week before.

While McIlroy recollected the nerve-wracking Sunday, he remembered a peculiar thing about Scott’s caddie, Steve Williams.

“And the one thing I just want to add about that day. So, as Adam sort of described the last hole, I held the pot and won, and Stevie Williams was on his bag…” McIlroy began at the press conference.

“I thought he broke my hand on the 18th grade. I’ve never had a harder handshake in my life,” he recollected.

The look on his face said it all. He was half-amused and half-lurking in disbelief. And considering who delivered that bone-crusher of a handshake, it made perfect sense. Steve Williams wasn’t just any caddie. He was the man who spent 12 years carrying Tiger Woods‘ bag through 13 major championships, before joining Adam Scott in 2011.

Their partnership produced some of Scott’s best years, including his historic 2013 Masters victory and his rise to World No. 1 in 2014. Williams was on Scott’s bag until 2017, before the duo parted ways.

“So, I don’t know if that was just a really big congratulations or if there was a bit of resentment in there, but that’s one thing I’ll remember about that green,” McIlroy continued.

He didn’t say it with bitterness, but it was a moment that has stayed with him. Did the “resentment” come because McIlroy stood in the way of Scott’s two back-to-back weeks of big wins?

All these memories resurfaced as the two champions helped kick off what is expected to be the biggest Australian Open ever.

Now, the Royal Melbourne Golf Club is buzzing, and crowds are expected to surpass even the 2019 Presidents Cup as the field is stacked with some of the biggest names this week.

Top Stories

Tour Pro Warns Jon Rahm About DP World Tour Future as LIV Golf Appeal Verdict Nears

Tiger Woods Issues Unfortunate Health Update Following Senior Tour Debut Rumors

Tiger Woods Unwilling to Let Charlie Woods Down as He Makes Tough PNC Championship Decision

Golf Veteran, 90, Pays Emotional Tribute to Fuzzy Zoeller Days After His Passing

Amanda Balionis Puts LPGA Rookie in Tough Spot With Unexpected Challenge

Rory McIlroy to join a stacked field at the 2025 Crown Australian Open

Rory McIlroy may be the headline act, but there are other big names in the field this week, too.

Locals Min Woo Lee and Cameron Smith will be joining McIlroy and Adam Scott this week. Cameron Smith is looking at his last chance this week to redeem himself, after a rollercoaster of a year he has had. He hasn’t made the cut in most World Ranking events he’s played, and he also missed the cut last week at the Australian PGA Championship.

Joining them will be the likes of Marc Leishman, Geoff Ogilvy, and Ryan Fox, to name a few. There are also 17 of this year’s Q-school graduates joining the big names, as they look for more than just the AUD $2 million prize.

Under Augusta National’s new exemption criteria, the winner this week at the Royal Melbourne will earn a 2026 Masters invitation. Beyond that, the top three finishers who are otherwise not exempt at the 2026 Open will secure their place at Royal Birkdale next summer. So, there’s definitely a lot on the line for players this week.

For those eager to catch the action, the event’s biggest names, Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, and Min Woo Lee, will begin the first round at 7:05 a.m. local time on Thursday (4:05 pm EST Wednesday) from the 10th tee. For the second round, they will move to the first tee, teeing off at 12:05 pm local time (9:05 pm EST on Thursday).