PHIL MICKELSON and TIGER WOODS both walked away with some nice trophies and a little more than loose change following the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Mickelson produced an almost flawless final round to secure a three stroke victory over Woods at the $A8.66 million Tour Championship, while Woods received a $A11.55 million consolation prize for winning the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup, the season long points race.

Mickelson shot a brilliant five under par 65in the Tour, eclipsing four stroke overnight leader Kenny Perry.

Crazy Phil’s nine-under 271 clinched his third victory of the year, while Woods comparatively “plodded” a 70 to finish runner-up on six-under. “It feels great to have won,” Mickelson said after collecting $A1.56 million for his victory plus  another $A3.47 million for finishing runner-up in the FedEx.

Golf has not been his primary focus this year, with both his wife and mother diagnosed with breast cancer. He says the prognosis for both is good.

 “This wasn’t a banner year,” he said. “This makes it a better year than it was. It’s been a frustrating last few months. Long term, both Amy and my mother are going to be great.”
For Woods, he could celebrate six victories this year after coming back from knee surgery – but there was still something missing.
“To have played as well as I have and as consistent as I have is something I’m very proud of,” Woods said. ““I wish I could have got a major in there. Hopefully next year I can put it together at the right times.”
John Senden was the best of the Australians, with his final round 71 putting him equal 10th on even-par 280.
Geoff Ogilvy (70) was two shots further back and equal 16th, while Marc Leishman lost momentum and finished with a disappointing 78, coming home ahead of only one player at 12-over.

DON’T look now and certainly don’t get out your cameras. He’s back!

Yes, it has just been confirmed mercurial John Daly will be playing championship golf in Australia again this summer.

So far it I just the 2009 Australian PGA Championship at the Hyatt Regency Coolum in Queensland from December 10 to 13, but the other major Australian tournaments are odds on to follow*.

(*Golf Australia subsequently announced nn August 18 that Daly would play in the 2009 Australian Open.)

Whatever people think of his camera throwing antics at the Australian Open last year, Daly helped get golf on the front and back pages and attracted big crowds.

He’ll do that again, and he’s a lot less expensive than Tiger Woods.

So now we have the Australian Masters in Melbourne pushing Tiger Woods, Sydney pushing Greg Norman and Queensland perhaps appropriately pushing the colourful Daly.

Daly is one of the great characters of golf. Of late he has been carving himself a new image, having lost 20 kilos and added blonded hair and a whole lot of outlandish clothing.

Announcing the commitment today, the PGA of Australia said last year Daly helped to generate record crowds for what is Australia’s oldest professional event.

 “John has a long history with the Australian PGA Championship and is exceptionally popular with the Sunshine Coast fans,” said Max Garske, CEO of the PGA of Australia.

“It is wonderful that John continues to support our event, and we are extremely excited to welcome him back yet again this year.”

This year will mark the third occasion in which Daly has played the Sunshine Coast tournament, although 2009 will bring with it a new challenge following the redesign of the Hyatt Regency Coolum course and the addition of six new and exciting holes.

“I am very much looking forward to play again in the PGA Championship and to see the course changes in Coolum,” said Daly yesterday.

The Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola will be played at the Hyatt Regency Coolum on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast from December 10-13, and will be the final leg of the 2009 OneAsia Super Series.

Update Wednesday, September 9: Daly Withdraws from Aussie Tour

Big John Daly has been forced to cancel his Australian appearances later this year after a recurring rib injury has seen him sidelined for the remainder of 2009.

Daly, who recently announced his intention to play both the Australian Open and the Australian PGA Championship in December revealed today (9/9/09) his disappointment at having to cancel his trip to Australia after the injury which he initially suffered at the 2007 Honda Classic flared up and required a surgical procedure last week. 

THE PGA OF AUSTRALIA has joined forces with the PGA’s of the US, Great Britain and Ireland to establish a new international alliance aimed at growing golf globally.

The organisation announced today it had entered into a new World PGA Alliance it said was a significant step for world golf

The World PGA Alliance will work to further promote the interests of the 56,000 PGA Professionals and more than 22,000 PGA member golf facilities worldwide.

Born from the third annual World PGA Conference conducted in Sydney in April 2008, the alliance has been formed to establish and guide teaching, playing and educational standards for the golf profession in developing golf territories and shared best practices in player development for adults and youth.

The alliance is led by the chief executives of The PGA’s of Australia, America and Great Britain & Ireland, while the PGA’s of Canada, Europe, Germany, Japan, South Africa, and Sweden are also alliance members.

“The PGA of Australia is proud to be part of the World PGA Alliance and join forces with its international colleagues in the interest of PGA members globally,” said Max Garske, CEO of the PGA of Australia. 

“This alliance will open up significant opportunities for PGA members both in Australia and internationally, and will act as a catalyst for the establishment of many more significant global golf industry initiatives into the future.”

Speaking at the launch of the announcement from the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Golf Club in Michigan, Jim Remy, President of the PGA of America said the Alliance is a significant step for world golf.

“The PGA of America is proud to join its global colleagues in golf in forming the World PGA Alliance, which is an outgrowth of the universal respect that the game of golf holds across cultural and language barriers,” said Remy.

“The Alliance is vital to the continued growth of the game and business of golf in emerging golf territories and will reinforce the numerous roles fulfilled by the PGA Professionals in instruction, player development and the business of golf.”

Also in attendance at the launch of the alliance, Geoff Scott, Chairman of the PGA of Australia added, “the PGA of Australia is the most recognisable and respected golf brand in the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific region, and is recognised as an industry leader that delivers the highest standards across all its programs.”

“The establishment of the World PGA Alliance aligns the PGA of Australia with two other immensely powerful entities, further enhancing the value of PGA brand while simultaneously increasing opportunities for PGA Members globally.”

The first formal meeting of the new Alliance will be held during the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida and will include a global symposium on junior golf.

THE 2009 NSW OPEN could have a major profile boost with suggestions today that organisers are attempting to lure Greg Norman to the event.

It has just been announced the NSW Open will be staged immediately prior to the Australian Open, an event the Shark has just committed to play for the next three years.

As well as the convenient timing and the opportunity it would provide as a warm up, the state open is being played at the Vintage Golf Club at Pokolbin, a course the Shark designed himself.

In a media release today spruiking the stepping up of the NSW Open to the newly rejuvenated PGA Tour of Australasia, organisers provocatively asked: “The question is - can Norman be lured back to the NSW Open and the fabulous Vintage course he designed in the Hunter?”

In the release, NSW Golf Association’s CEO and NSW Open Tournament Director, Greg Mills, said the organisation was working closely with the PGA to attract some of the sport’s big names.

“Spectators this year will not be disappointed with the quality of the field.  Having the NSW Open back to back with the Australian Open is a real coup for Hunter sport and tourism,” Mills said.

“Our continuing partnership with the Greg Norman designed Vintage Golf Course provides the perfect backdrop and a great test for our best players who will vie for our flagship event and the national title, in just two weeks of championship golf,” he said.

“The NSW Open continues to grow in stature on our major circuit is a joint venture between the NSW Golf Association, the PGA of Australia and The Vintage with important backing from Events NSW.”

“Many of golf’s elite players have their name on the trophy including Greg Norman who has just committed to support the Australian Open and Events NSW for the next three years.”

The NSW tournament, with a rich 78 years of tradition, will be played from November 26 to 29.  The Australian Open will be played at the NSW Golf Club from December 3 to 6.

The organisers say a unique feature of the NSW Open is the Team Challenge Pro-Am format, which allows amateurs the tremendous opportunity to play alongside the leading professionals throughout the last 36 holes of the Championship itself.

The Vintage Golf Club’s owners, John Stevens and Don Panoz are delighted their venue will once again host the event where the golfing public can see the talents of some of Australia’s best golfers on one their highly ranked NSW course.

Stevens and Panoz have recently announced that construction has commenced on their $40 million luxury hotel and destination spa complex at The Vintage.

THE WORLD golf map is changing with China to host one of the elite World Golf Championship events this year.

World number one Tiger Woods is already confirmed as a starter for the only WGC event not to be staged in the US.

The International Federation of PGA Tours announced this week the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in November is being elevated to the WGC series.

Woods will play in Shanghai the week before he heads to Melbourne for the Australian Masters.

Prize money for the tournament at Sheshan International Golf Club will be bumped up by $US2 million ($A2.82 million) to $US7 million ($A9.87 million) and there will be a revised qualifying criteria.

The World Golf Championship is an elite series sanctioned by the International Federation of PGA Tours and has been running since 1999.

The move to include China comes with the WGC long criticised for being largely limited to venues in the US where all three of this year’s other events are.

“This is one of the most significant steps ever taken in the globalisation of golf, and one of the most logical,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.

International fields for the WGC events are selected using the official world rankings and the money lists for the individual tours, which include the PGA Tour, European Tour, Asian Tour, Australasian Tour and Japan Tour.

The World Golf Championships in 2009 include the Accenture Match Play Championships at Arizona, the CA Championships at Doral, Florida, and the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio in August.

The decision has been greeted with unanimous approval by the golfing fraternity.

Tiger Woods was quoted as saying: “I played in the HSBC Champions in 2005 and 2006 and I am looking forward to returning to Shanghai this November. It is an event that symbolizes the amazing progress of golf in Asia and its new World Golf Championships status underlines how firmly China has established its place on the global golf calendar. I enjoy playing around the world when possible, and having a WGC event in China is very important to the global growth of the game.”

A SIZZLING back nine performance has seen Australian Scott Strange claim the Volvo China Open by one shot and make history by becoming the first winner on the OneAsia Super Series.
The 33 year old West Australian shot a final round four under 68, including three birdies in his final five holes to claim the US$2.2 million event, the first event of the new OneAsia Super Series and co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
Strange finished the tournament on minus eight, one shot ahead of Spaniard Gonzalo Fdez-Castano with fellow Australian Ashley Hall, England’s Richard Finch and New Zealander Mark Brown a further stroke back in third.
The 32-year-old began the day in fifth spot and despite wet conditions Strange performed with aplomb, firing in five birdies for the day to take out his second Euopean Tour Event.
“I played solid and its course that was always going to suit me so I wasn’t going to get myself into too much trouble,” said Strange. “I didn’t tear the course apart but I played it the best I could and produced a score that ended up winning.”
Strange claimed the title, his second on the European Tour after he won the Wales Open in June last year pocketing a winner’s check for $US366,000 and added a bonus of at least US$155,000 courtesy of earning a spot in the elite 16-man field for the Volvo World Match Play Championship to be held later in the year in Spain.
The win last year in Wales was particularly emotional for the 33 year old whose sister lost a long battle with cancer weeks later so the victory today was one that came with mixed emotions.
“The win last year will always mean a lot to me with everything that was going on with my sister. This win is just as special it’s always nice to prove again that you can win again. My last win in Wales was surrounded by circumstances that weren’t too great so to win again it’s just as special. I am sure my family at home will be very happy and my sister if she were still here now would be pretty proud of me as well.”
Fellow Australian Ashley Hall finished the day in a tie for third spot following a one-under-par 71. It was a welcome return to form since winning the Subaru Victorian Open on the Australasian Tour in January. Hall appeared to have let things slip away when he was two-over after 14 holes, but he regrouped, coming home with three birdies in his last four holes to finish alongside overnight leader Richard Finch and Kiwi Mark Brown.
New South Welshman Kurt Barnes had a solid tournament, coming home with a final round six under 66 to finish in tie for 11th with Aaron Townsend also claiming a top 20 finish, closing at two under par for a tie for 16th position, with Marcus Fraser and David McKenzie tied 20th and even with the card.

(Original Material Courtesy PGA Australia)

AUSTRALIAN Nick O’Hern has tied for third at the Shell Houston Open, while the rounds of Geoff Ogilvy and Greg Norman unraveled in their US Masters lead ups.

After being tied for first overnight, Ogilvy finished in a five person tie for sixth and Norman, in his much vaunted lead up to Augusta, finished  70th.

Meanwhile, Michael Sim became the third Australasian winner on the Nationwide Tour this season, blitzing the field by a whopping six shots to claim the Stonebrae Classic in California. See the full  Aussies in Action world round up.

US PGA TOUR: O’HERN TIES FOR THIRD IN HOUSTON

Australian Nick O’Hern has finished in a tie for third at the Shell Houston Open, won in a play off by Englishman Paul Casey.

31 year old Casey, a nine time winner on the European Tour held off the challenge from American J.B.Holmes to claim his first ever title on the US PGA Tour in 77 starts. It almost didn’t happen for Casey as he led by a shot with one hole to play but a bogey saw him forced into a play off with the American. Casey then bogeyed the 18^th in the play off but it was enough to oust Holmes, who drove his tee shot into the water.

For the Australasians, O’Hern’s total of nine under par was just two shots behind Casey and a great result for the West Australian who was T20 going into the final round. Additionally it was an encouraging sign for the popular left hander who was forced to miss the Australasian summer due to thumb surgery and who had his first tournament since November at the Northern Trust Open in February. 

O’Hern finished alongside Swede Henrik Stenson and former Masters Champion Fred Couples who led at 12 under for much of the final round before bogeying the final three holes to drop back to nine under.

Geoff Ogilvy was tied first overnight with five others but his round quickly unraveled with two bogeys and a double bogey in his first eight holes. He eventually finished in a five way tie for sixth on eight under.  Jarrod Lyle, Stuart Appleby and John Senden were tied 31^st on three under, with Marc Leishman a further shot back and tied 42^nd. Peter Lonard had a disappointing six over 78 to drop to 52^nd with Steve Elkington a shot further back and T58.

Greg Norman’s tournament unraveled with a final round nine over 81 to fall to 70^th place alongside James Nitties whose tournament faded after a stunning first round 66 and Kiwi Tim Wilkinson.

NATIONWIDE TOUR: STUNNING VICTORY FOR SIM

PGA of Australia member Michael Sim has become the third Australasian winner on the Nationwide Tour this season, blitzing the field by a whopping six shots to claim the Stonebrae Classic in California today.

Starting the final round just one shot ahead of the pack, the 24 year old West Australian reeled off seven birdies and an eagle on his way to a best round seven under 64. It could have been more if not for bogeys at the second and 16^th, but it hardly mattered as no one came close to threatening his lead all day.

With rounds of 71, 64, 67 & 74 for a total of 18 under 266, Sim finished six shots ahead of fellow Aussie Cameron Percy from Victoria who finished in a tie for second on 12 under par. In further good news for the Australasian contingent Queenslander Andrew Buckle shot a final round five under to finish in a tie for sixth place with New South Welshman Nick Flanagan.

The first-place cheque of $USD108,000 pushes Sim to the No. 1 spot on the money list with $USD182,017, nearly $USD45,000 in front of veteran Vance Veazey. THE 25 leading money-winners at the end of the year will graduate to the PGA TOUR, a place Sim spent the 2007-08 seasons but struggled because of recurring back troubles.

Sim now joins Australian Alistair Presnell (Moonah Classic) and New Zealand’s Steve Alker (HSBC NZ PGA Championship), as Australasian winners on the Nationwide Tour this year. Of six events, Australasians have won three. Sim is also the 29^th Australasian winner on the Nationwide Tour with the boys from Down Under amassing 45 titles since the Tour began in 1989. Twenty nine of those titles have been collected since 2004 with last year the highlight as Australians has their best ever season, claiming seven titles overall – including five of the first eight events. 

EUROPEAN TOUR: IRISHMAN HOEY CLAIMS MAIDEN TITLE

New Zealand’s Mark Brown was the best of the Australasians at the Estoril Portugal Open on the weekend, finishing in T28 behind winner Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland.

Brown’s first and final rounds of 73 marred an otherwise good performance. His second and third rounds of 68 & 69 had him in a T11 going into the final round but he couldn’t finish off.

30 year old Hoey came from five shots behind to claim his first European Tour title after a nerve wracking three hole play-off with Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez- Castano.  The Irishman shot a final round 5 under 66 to catch the leaders and knocked in a six foot putt for par on the third play-off hole as Castano could only manage a bogey.

Wade Ormsby finished at two over and T43 with fellow Aussie Michael Curtain finished four over and T63.

AUSTRALASIAN RESULTS:

US PGA TOUR: SHELL HOUSTON OPEN, REDSTONE GC TOURNAMENT COURSE, HUMBLE, TEXAS

WINNER: PAUL CASEY (England) * won on first play-off hole over J.B. Holmes (-11)

T3 Nick O’Hern (-9), T6 Geoff Ogilvy (-8), T31 Jarrod Lyle, Stuart Appleby, John Senden (-3), T42 Marc Leishman (-2), T52 Peter Lonard (E), T58 Steve Elkington (+1), T70 Greg Norman, James Nitties, Tim Wilkinson NZL (+3)

MC: Nathan Green, Steve Allan, Aaron Baddeley, Aron Price

EUROPEAN TOUR: ESTORIL OPEN DE PORTUGAL, OITAVOS DUNES, CASCAIS, PORTUGAL

WINNER: MICHAEL HOEY (Northern Ireland) * won on the third play-off hole over Gonzalo Fernandez- Castano

T28 Mark Brown NZL (-1), T43 Wade Ormsby (+2), T63 Michael Curtain (+4)

MC: Matthew Millar

NATIONWIDE TOUR: STONEBRAE CLASSIC, TPC SAN FRANCISCO BAY, HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA

WINNER: WINNER: MICHAEL SIM (AUSTRALIA) (-18)

T2 Cameron Percy (-12), T6 Andrew Buckle, T6 Nick Flanagan (-8), T32 Gavin Coles (-1), T38 Grant Waite NZL (E), T50 Scott Gardiner (+3), T61 Steven Bowditch (+6), T61 Kim Felton (+6)

MC: Phil Tataurangi NZL, Won Joon Lee, David McKenzie, Paul Gow

THE WEEK AHEAD:

MAJOR: The Masters, Augusta National, Georgia, USA.

LEGENDARY Kiwi golfer Sir Bob Charles will turn 73 during the running of the New Zealand Open this Saturday but the World Golf Hall of Famer hasn’t been talking up his chances of making his second cut in a row at the event.

Charles turned the competition on its ear last time, finishing T23, twice shooting better than his age, coming home third best Kiwi and becoming the oldest player in history to make the cut at a major PGA Tour event.

With a sudden cold snap plummeting temperatures and bringing snow and soggy conditions to New Zealand’s south island, Charles didn’t fancy the effect it would have on his circulation or his run off the tee.

This will be Charles’ 47th and he says maybe his final appearance at the open. He first entered as a teenage amateur in 1954.

“It would be nice if I could have maybe one score at least around about my age but I don’t know what the weather is going to be,” Charles said this week.
“My hands are white; I have absolutely no feeling in these conditions so expectations are rather low.”

Charles, who says these days he is something of a fair weather golfer with poor circulation,  has won the event four times over the years, was British Open champion in 1963 and in all has won more than 70 titles.

For the previous open, Charles had practised extensively in the build-up, but his preparation has been limited this time.

“I’ve not played competitively this year – I’ve probably played six to 10 rounds, but I enjoy hitting balls and find time every other day to hit between 70 and 100.”

And while Charles admits an advantage over the 156 strong field in terms of course knowledge, his lack of length off the tee with the course so soft will be a huge problem. 
“I’ll be out of my depth on the eighth and 18th holes both being about 500 yards par-4 holes. I’d need an awful lot of run to get there in two. My 250 yard tee shots are not going to cut the mustard – everyone I play with hits it 50 yards past me.”

One of those is NZ’s current teenage sensation Danny Lee.  If Lee were to win he would become the third 18 year old amateur to do so, behind Charles in 54 and Australian Harry Berwick in 1956.

One suspects Charles wouldn’t mind passing on the baton in his likely final appearance.

“I think he (Lee) is fantastic,” Charles said this week. “As an 18-year-old he’s better than Tiger Woods was at that age.”

GREG NORMAN will be helping celebrate his recent 54th birthday with a serious tilt at the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth.

After his stunning British Open performance last year, Norman is looking to start fine tuning his game for his 23rd trip to the US Masters.

In the ultimate fairy tale that almost was, Norman led the British Open at Royal Birkdale by two strokes after three rounds last July before succumbing to finish in a tie for third place.  It was good enough however to earn him an invitation to the Masters in April.

“I’ve had some great experiences there and I’ve had some bad experiences there, but at the same time it all neutralizes over my whole career there,” Norman said this week.

With that experience helping him take a mature approach, he’s aiming to make the Masters cut.

“I’ve always been a believer: Age is really not anything but a number, as long as you keep yourself in good shape,” he said. “That’s why I don’t really need to be like a 21-year-old or an 18-year-old thinking about (the Masters) months and months and months in advance.”

At the Vines Resort and Country Club this week Norman is up against a hot field that includes Colombian star Camilo Villegas, American Anthony Kim, England’s Lee Westwood and title holder, 2008 Australasian Tour Order of Merit winner Mark Brown of New Zealand.

All eyes will be on the charismatic Norman, a man who has won over 80 international titles and two major championships.

“If I come and play a golf tournament, I’m not just going to come and play. I’m going to try to give it my best shot. Sometimes you miss the cut and sometimes you do very well. As long as you know, you’re giving it 101 percent, which I’ll do this week,” Norman said.

Winner of the 1994 Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket, Thailand, Norman, a former world number one, has kept himself in great physical shape despite his growing business interests around the world which includes golf course designing, a winery and apparel.

Norman’s challengers could well be two of the world’s most exciting young talents.

World number nine Villegas and the 11th-ranked Kim won two titles each on the US PGA Tour last season and know that getting their names onto the Johnnie Walker Classic trophy, which includes great names like Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, Fred Couples, Ian Woosnam and Norman, would add to their growing reputation.

The Johnnie Walker Classic is tri-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia, Asian Tour and European Tour.

The Johnnie Walker Classic will be broadcast in Australia by Network Ten.

Thursday 19 Feb & Friday 20 Feb: TEN HD: 2:30pm to 7:30pm, EST & WST

Saturday 21 February: TEN: 12pm – 5pm EST & WST

Sunday 22 February: TEN: 12pm – 5pm EST & WST

MORE golf will be appearing on Australian free to air television following the announcement of an historic new agreement between the PGA of Australia and Network Ten.

The five year deal means that for the first time marquee golf tournaments from Australia, Asia and the United States will be broadcast on a single network.
The deal will see at least 12 live and exclusive tournaments per year broadcast on Network Ten’s new 24-hour sports channel ONE along with supporting coverage of selected events on TEN. In addition, exclusive highlights packages of a further 10 events per year will also be broadcast on ONE.
The partnership tees off this weekend with highlights of the Subaru Victorian Open followed next weekend by highlights of the Cellarbrations Victorian PGA Championship.

Exclusive coverage of the Moonah Classic and Australia’s oldest professional tournament, the Australian PGA Championship, headline the domestic events.
The deal also includes live and exclusive coverage of the Michael Hill New Zealand Open, the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship, the three prestigious World Golf Championship events – the Accenture MatchPlay Championship, CA Championship and Bridgestone Invitational – as well as the Omega Mission
Hills World Cup.

Four key Asian events including the Singapore Open, Indian Open, Thailand Open and the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia complete the international component.
The deal adds to the Network’s existing portfolio of premium golf tournaments including the year’s opening two major championships, the Masters and the US Open, as well as the Johnnie Walker Classic and the ANZ Ladies Masters.
Network Ten’s general manager – sport, David White, said the Network was excited to be broadcasting such an extensive portfolio of elite golf to the Australian public through this landmark agreement with PGA of Australia.
“Our new 24-hour sports channel ONE will provide us with the platform to showcase golf on a live and exclusive basis, not previously seen in this country,” Mr. White said.
“Viewers will be able to watch extended golf coverage on ONE while also viewing the final rounds of many marquee events on both TEN and ONE.”
“We warmly welcome the sport of golf onto our expanded Network of TEN and ONE, bringing the game to a larger and more diverse audience than ever before,” he said.
Max Garske, CEO of the PGA of Australia said: “This is a key partnership for the PGA of Australia and we are delighted to form a long-term investment with Network Ten.”
“Golf in Australia is rapidly moving forward and to work with such a progressive network marries well with our vision.”
“It is wonderful news for the game and its supporters allowing them to see more of our domestic competition and provides a solid foundation for the development and promotion of our game as we move ahead.”
ONE will broadcast from late March in High Definition (HD) on Digital Channel 1 and also in Standard Definition (SD) on Digital Channel 12. Those events not appearing on TEN prior to late March will air on Ten- HD (Digital Channel 1).
It is not yet clear if the additional broadcasts will extend to the regional Southern Cross networks, which at present miss out on TEN HD coverage.

Editor’s Note 23/2/209 : Apparently Southern Cross Ten say they are still working on the “infrastructure” and will be screening TEN HD and the new ONE Sports channel “later this year”, whenever that is. Every time people ask they seem to put the date back and there is much unhappiness out there in regional tv land. SC10 are the broadcaster, apart from capital cities, down the eastern seaboard and that includes the Canberra area.