Television: Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Defending champion: Joaquin Niemann and Ashleigh Buhai.
Race to Dubai leader: Elvis Smylie.
Last week: Elvis Smylie won the Australian PGA Championship.
Notes: For the second straight year, the Australian Open and Women’s Australian Open will compete at the same time on the same courses for the same level of prize money. … Australian siblings Minjee Lee from the LPGA and Min Woo Lee will be competing in their respective fields. … Tiger Woods won the 2009 Australian Masters at Kingston Heath, one of the more famous courses on the Melbourne sandbelt. … Kingston Heath will host the Presidents Cup in 2028. … Geoff Ogilvy is in the field. He grew up at Victoria Golf Club. … Cameron Smith is playing for the fourth straight week, including two PGA Tour of Australasia events that were not co-sanctioned with the European tour. … Joaquin Niemann of LIV Golf won last year and it was key for him receiving an invitation to the Masters. … Wenyi Ding, who gave up his spot in the Masters from winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur, is playing as a European tour rookie.