MELBOURNE, April 13 (Reuters) - Of all the Rory McIlroy fans at Augusta National on Sunday, Australian golf bosses were among his biggest supporters as the Northern Irishman went back-to-back at the Masters.
McIlroy proved a shot in the arm for Australia's local tour when he played the national Open at Royal Melbourne last December, and he will return to the city's famed 'Sandbelt' for another shot at the title at Kingston Heath from December 3.
For a small golf economy like Australia, which can struggle to lure marquee names during a period when many players are on holiday, a genuine superstar can make a massive difference.
McIlroy helped draw a total attendance of 112,968 to Royal Melbourne over the course of the last Australian Open, making it the highest-attended golf event ever staged in the country.
Now, with McIlroy having bagged a second Masters title to add to his growing legacy, governing body Golf Australia (GA) is planning for another record-breaking week at Kingston Heath.
"There aren't a lot of players that have that star power that shift the needle big-time," GA boss James Sutherland told Reuters by telephone.
"We're hopefully building for a bigger and better event."
McIlroy's two-year commitment to the Australian Open is underpinned by his affection for Melbourne's Sandbelt courses, which offer links-like playability and place an emphasis on strategy.
Royal Melbourne's West course was designed by Augusta's co-designer Alister MacKenzie, who also had input into Kingston Heath's layout.
Sutherland said the venues helped secure McIlroy, whose visit to the A$2 million ($1.41 million) DP World Tour-sanctioned event last December meant turning down Tiger Woods' exclusive Hero World Challenge and the $6 million Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.
McIlroy's presence was also motivation for top Australian golfers like former world number one Adam Scott and British Open winner Cameron Smith to return home to play at local tour events.
"They were thrilled with the elevation of the event," said Sutherland.
McIlroy said last year that he hoped the Australian Open could have its own space in the global schedule so that it could attract more international headliners rather than losing them to other events.
But this year's event will coincide with the Hero World Challenge again, and Golf Australia has been firm about maintaining the early-December slot for its most prestigious tournament which follows directly after the Australian PGA Championship in Queensland.
Sutherland, nonetheless, hopes McIlroy might inspire a few more leading international golfers to make the long journey to Australia in November and December.
"Having the two events together is something we've designed -- so we can address players to come and play both in the (home) summer," said Sutherland.
($1 = 1.4205 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
