The Johnnie Walker Australian Classic was a golf tournament held in Australia from 1988 to 1992. It was first played as the Bicentennial Classic to celebrate the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

. From 1989 it was sponsored by

United Distillers United Distillers was a Scottish company formed in 1987 from combining the businesses of Distillers Company and Arthur Bell & Sons, both owned by Guinness. The company owned six single malt Scotch brands, which were relaunched as the ''Classi ...

, using their

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended ...

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial distil ...

brand, and officially titled as the Johnnie Walker Australian Classic, and then the Johnnie Walker Classic from 1991. It was held at the

Royal Melbourne Golf Club Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb southeast of Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectively ranked number 1 and 6 in Australia. The West course is ranked in the to ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, except in 1991 when it was played at

The Lakes Golf Club The Lakes Golf Club is one of Australia's premier golf courses, located in the Sydney suburb of Eastlakes in New South Wales. Founded in 1928, this prestigious private golf course is approximately a 10-minute drive from Sydney central business ...

. Prize money was A$1,500,000 in 1988, A$1,000,000 from 1989 to 1991, and A$700,000 in 1992. The tournament was played for the final time in 1992 as a result of

ending their sponsorship in April 1993. After the tournament was cancelled in 1993, the Johnnie Walker Asian Classic dropped the word "Asian" and took on the ''Johnnie Walker Classic'' title.

Winners

Notes

References

{{reflist Former PGA Tour of Australasia events Golf tournaments in Australia Recurring sporting events established in 1988 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1992