Australia Open officials have confirmed reports that they have launched an audacious bid to lure Tiger Woods to compete in the event next year.
Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt has announced negotiations to bring the world number one back to Australia are in the early stages, despite the fact that Woods has not played Down Under since the 1998 Presidents Cup in Melbourne.
"We have had some discussions with his management," he said.
"Their advice to us was that one thing to be careful of is speculating about Tiger playing in your event ... but the Australian Open, like every event, would like to have Tiger in its field, absolutely."
Pitt believes attracting Woods to the Australia Open would be a terrific investment for a tournament which has struggled to attract big names in recent times
"We think he would be a great fit for the Australian Open," he added.
"I think it would be a natural place for him to play in Australia and given the past champions that we've had with Gary Player winning seven and Jack Nicklaus winning six and Arnold Palmer winning one, Tiger Woods would sit very comfortably alongside those names."
Despite the obvious excitement associated with the Woods name, Pitt was quick to point out the deal is a long way from being done.
"For (Woods) at the moment I don't think he's making decisions right now because of his injury and he's putting things on hold till he finds out exactly where he's at," Pitt explained.
"Of course, (Woods playing) would raise interest in the event and the young kids would love to see someone like Tiger or even a couple of the other top 10 players that we haven't seen out here recently or ever."
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