The Australian Open will tee off this week buoyed by being able to welcome Century 21 on board as Presenting Sponsor.

In a wonderful development for the country's national Open, Century 21 has committed to sponsor the prestigious tournament which is being played at The Lakes in Sydney from December 2 to 5.

The Australian Open presented by Century 21 promises to be an outstanding week of golf with defending champion Adam Scott competing along with Stuart Appleby, Geoff Ogilvy, and five-time winner Greg Norman. American stars Fred Couples and John Daly are also competing.

Boasting prize money of US$1.3 million the tournament is the penultimate leg on OneAsia for the second successive season and is co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour of Australasia

"We recently became aware an opportunity existed to sponsor the Australian Open and we quickly moved to become involved with what is one of golf's most famous national Opens. Century 21 is pleased to be able to support Australian golf and believes the sponsorship will deliver strong value for our company and brand"said Charles Tarbey, Owner and Chairman of Century 21 Australia.

Century 21 is one the largest real estate sales organizations in the world and one of the world's most well known brands. They have become the fastest-growing real estate network in the Australasian region with hundreds of offices.

Golf Australia CEO Stephen Pitt said he was very pleased to welcome Century 21 to Australia's most prestigious championship.

"We are naturally delighted that Century 21 has come on board as the presenting partner of this year's Australian Open,"Pitt said.

"Century 21 are a very strong global company that have built a formidable position in Australia so they are obviously an organizsation we are delighted to have a close relationship with.”

"Equally I have no doubt Century 21 will enjoy the benefits of being associated with a championship of the Australian Open's calibre.”

World Sport Group, who became promoter of the Australian Open last year as part of a six-year agreement, also welcomed the news.

"We are indebted to Century 21 for their support and we look forward to being able to reward them with global television coverage and all the benefits associated with sponsoring one of golf's most revered tournaments,"said Mark Hardess, President, ASEAN & Australia, World Sport Group.

The Australian Open was first played in 1904 and has been won by the biggest names in the game. South African Gary Player has lifted the Stonehaven Cup a record seven times while Jack Nicklaus from the United States triumphed on six occasions.

The Australian Open will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 260 million homes in more than 40 countries.

Full coverage of the event will be available domestically on Network Ten, as well as internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 & America One in the USA, ViaSat & Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.

The Australian Open is a flagship sporting event on the NSW Master Events Calendar developed by Events NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.