Masters champion Rory McIlroy is heading Down Under for the first time in more than a decade to play the Australian Open on Melbourne’s famed sandbelt courses for the next two years.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy will play the next two editions of the Australian Open in a major coup for one of golf's oldest tournaments, which has struggled in recent years to get marquee names to undertake the long journey south.

McIlroy confirmed reports that he has agreed to headline the men’s Australian Open for the next two years on the Melbourne Sandbelt.