Australian golf officials are trying to negotiate a deal to bring a men's professional tournament back to the capital for the first time in almost 20 years.
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Fairfax Media can reveal the European PGA second-tier tour is considering shifting a $350,000 event to Canberra as early as the end of the year if they can strike a funding deal with the ACT government.
It's believed the tour has started negotiations with Visit Canberra to source funding, with the opportunity for massive television exposure through Europe looming as a key part of the deal.
PGA officials were in Canberra at the start of May and visited four courses as part of a fact-finding mission, which involved several meetings with key stakeholders.
Royal Canberra, Federal Golf Club, Yowani and Gold Creek were all on the radar for hosting rights for a potential three-year deal.
The second-tier tour is used as a development step for emerging stars, and hosting it in Canberra would open the door for Australia's top players to compete for a share of the likely $350,000 prize pool.
The location could be a sticking point, with Royal Canberra all but locked in to host another women's classic at the start of the year, while Federal is being redeveloped after finalising plans to sell land and build an over-55s village on unused parts of the course.
The future of the Gold Creek club is also unclear, with owners drawing up plans to reduce the size of the course and redevelop a 49 hectare land parcel.
Royal Canberra hosted the women's Australian Open in 2013 as part of the city's centenary celebrations and the ALPG is working to lure some of the best female golfers in the world back to the women's classic next year.
The Queanbeyan Golf Club will also host the women's NSW Open next year as part of a five-year agreement with the NSW government to play the tournament in regional areas.
But Canberra has been starved of men's professional tournament golf since the early 2000s, when some of Australia's top golfers played at Royal Canberra. Federal has also hosted top tier events.
The mooted return of men's golf in Canberra could be in a 'Super six' format, which was created to make the sport more spectator friendly and give more players a chance of winning.
The format starts with a traditional style before shifting to a six-hole match-play format in the last round.
The timing of the event is also crucial for it getting approval at the top level, with officials still weighing up when is the best time of year and how to avoid schedule clashes in Asia.
Meanwhile, Canberra golfer Matt Millar missed out on a chance to qualify for the US Open after finishing a 36-hole one-day sprint at two-over par at the sectional qualifying.
Millar was hoping to secure a ticket to Shinnecock Hills Golf Course on Long Island to play in the second major tournament of his career.
But Millar finished outside the top-14 qualifying spots and finished seven shots behind qualifying winner Paul Waring.
Millar will now compete in a European Tour event in Austria this week before attempting to qualify for the British Open in July.
Fellow Canberra golfer Brendan Jones also narrowly missed his chance to qualify for a major after falling just short of a required finish in Japan to book his ticket to the British Open.