Tennis Australia and PGA TOUR Join Forces for 2028 Presidents Cup in Melbourne
MELBOURNE – In a landmark cross-sport collaboration, Tennis Australia and the PGA TOUR have announced a strategic partnership for the 2028 Presidents Cup. The agreement will see Tennis Australia bring its extensive event-delivery expertise to one of international golf’s most prestigious team events.
Under the new arrangement, Tennis Australia will support the operational, experiential, and commercial delivery of the tournament at the iconic Kingston Heath Golf Club. The organization will leverage its decades of experience managing the Australian Open, one of the largest annual sporting events in the world.
The PGA TOUR will retain overall strategic guidance for the Presidents Cup and will completely oversee all sporting and competitive elements. The announcement follows the TOUR’s recent appointment of Joe Tomek as the event’s Executive Director, who relocated to Melbourne from Memphis, Tennessee in April.
A New Enterprise for a Historic Event
The 2028 tournament marks the first major project managed by Tennis Australia’s newly established events enterprise. Created to extend the organization’s operational expertise into broader commercial partnerships and major cultural or sporting events, the enterprise will funnel its generated proceeds directly back into grassroots tennis development across Australia.
Tennis Australia’s role will encompass a wide array of core operational and fan experience areas, including:
- Ticketing and retail operations
- Local and global corporate sponsorships
- Premium corporate hospitality
- On-site fan experiences, food, and beverage logistics
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley emphasized that the alliance highlights both the host city’s elite sporting reputation and his organization’s evolving capabilities.
“This is a natural extension of what we do best – delivering major global sporting events that connect with fans, attract the world’s best athletes and showcase Australia on the international stage,” Tiley said. “Our team delivers the Australian Open to millions of fans around the world each year, and we’re excited to bring that same operational excellence, creativity and fan-first mindset to the 2028 Presidents Cup.”
Kingston Heath Steps onto the Global Stage
The biennial Presidents Cup features a 24-player match-play format pitting the top men’s golfers from the United States against an International Team representing the rest of the world, excluding Europe.
While the 2028 event marks a record fourth time the Presidents Cup will visit Melbourne, it will be the first edition hosted at Kingston Heath Golf Club. The three previous iterations—staged in 1998, 2011, and 2019—were all played at nearby Royal Melbourne Golf Club. The move will showcase a new crown jewel of the famous Melbourne Sandbelt to a massive global broadcast audience.
2028 Presidents Cup Executive Director Joe Tomek noted that Tennis Australia’s track record makes them a perfect fit to elevate the tournament’s regional and global presence.
“Tennis Australia has set the benchmark for major event delivery and fan engagement in this region, making it the ideal partner to elevate the Presidents Cup,” Tomek said. “Bringing together two leading sports organizations… reflects a shared commitment to building on the Presidents Cup’s past success in Melbourne and delivering an unforgettable experience.”
The partnership has also drawn strong backing from local government, reinforcing Victoria’s status as a premier hub for major international sports.
“This partnership reflects the strength of Victoria’s sporting ecosystem and our commitment to delivering world-class events,” said Steve Dimopoulos, Victoria’s Minister of Sport and Major Events. “By leveraging the expertise of Tennis Australia alongside the global reach of the Presidents Cup, we are continuing to raise the bar for major sporting events in Melbourne.”
Organizers stated that further logistical details, including official ticketing timelines and specific fan experiences, will be released in due course.
