{"id":910961,"date":"2026-09-30T11:52:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T11:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910961\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T11:52:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T11:52:19","slug":"matt-jones-locked-in-for-2027-isps-handa-japan-australasia-championship-australian-golf-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/910961\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Jones locked in for 2027 ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship \u2013 Australian Golf Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[Photo: Josh Chadwick\/Getty Images]<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two-time Australian Open champion and PGA Tour winner Matt Jones will be in the field for the second ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship, with tickets now on sale for the tournament\u2019s return to Royal Auckland &amp; Grange Golf Club from February 18-21, 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.australiangolfdigest.com.au\/liv-golf-adelaide-matt-joness-tips-on-how-to-speed-up-play-and-lower-your-scores\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Matt Jones\u2019 tips on how to speed up play, and lower your scores<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of Australia\u2019s most credentialled players of the past 20 years, Jones has locked in his first professional appearance in Auckland where he will join players from the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, Japan Golf Tour and other international stars in the $1.2 million tournament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Sydneysider has played in 20 major championships, won the Australian Open in 2015 and 2019, with his PGA Tour victories coming at the Houston Open in 2014 and Honda Classic in 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m really excited to be heading over to Auckland and playing in the ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard plenty of good things about Royal Auckland &amp; Grange and it will be great to finally get the chance to play there, especially in tournament conditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve played a lot of golf around the world, but I haven\u2019t had the opportunity to play a professional event in Auckland before, so I\u2019m really looking forward to it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s a great concept bringing players from Australia, New Zealand and Japan together, and after seeing how successful the first tournament was, I\u2019m looking forward to being part of it this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The inaugural ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship \u2013 the first men\u2019s professional tournament in Auckland in two decades \u2013 provided a spectacular finish, with Australia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.australiangolfdigest.com.au\/the-jobs-not-done-travis-smyth-has-dp-world-tour-card-in-his-sights-after-marathon-win-in-auckland\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Travis Smyth emerging victorious<\/a> after a six-hole playoff against Jack Thompson to become the first name on the trophy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tournament is aimed at strengthening the golfing connections between Australasia and Japan while giving thousands of fans the opportunity to watch some of the region\u2019s best professionals compete in New Zealand\u2019s biggest city.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PGA Tour of Australasia general manager of tournaments and global tour relationships Nick Dastey said: \u201cThe inaugural ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship was a fantastic addition to our tour and delivered a week of outstanding golf at Royal Auckland &amp; Grange.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMatt Jones is a proven winner with an outstanding record, so to have him as the first confirmed player for the 2027 championship is fantastic news.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe will bring plenty of experience to what we expect will be another strong international field, and we\u2019re particularly excited to give New Zealand fans the opportunity to see Matt play in Auckland for the first time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFollowing the success of the inaugural championship, we\u2019re looking forward to welcoming players and fans back to Royal Auckland &amp; Grange for another terrific week of golf.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japan Golf Tour Organisation chairman Yutaka Morohoshi said the JGTO was looking forward to returning to Auckland in 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRoyal Auckland &amp; Grange provided an excellent stage for the inaugural tournament, and we were very impressed by the support from the players, the fans and everyone involved in bringing the championship to New Zealand,\u201d Dr Morohoshi said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe partnership between the Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia is very important to us, and this championship is a great example of how golf can build stronger connections across the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe hope the championship can continue to grow and become an important event for both tours and for golf fans in New Zealand, Japan and across Australasia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[Photo: Josh Chadwick\/Getty Images] Two-time Australian Open champion and PGA Tour winner Matt Jones will be in the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,246275,146406,62092,250382,163416,250383,85,478703],"class_list":["post-910961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-isps-handa-japan-australasia-championship","tag-japan-golf-tour","tag-matt-jones","tag-nick-dastey","tag-pga-tour-of-australasia","tag-royal-auckland-grange-golf-club","tag-sports","tag-yutaka-morohoshi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}