Faced with the probability of severely curtailed television coverage because of a clash of dates with the Davis Cup tennis final between Australia and Spain in Melbourne, the Australian Golf Union made the decision to postpone the golf tournament.
Seven owns the TV rights to cover both events and had asked Tennis Australia to consider playing the cup final between Australia and Spain at night.
But it is understood that when this appeared unlikely for several major reasons, Seven requested the AGU to make the switch.
Originally scheduled for November 27-30 at the fledgling Moonah Links layout on the Mornington Peninsula, the Open will now be played over the weekend of December 18-21.
The change may prove all the more important for the Open which had been hit by the decision of the top four Australian players - Robert Allenby, Adam Scott, Stuart Appleby and Stephen Leaney - to play in the Nedbank Masters at Sun City on the original Open date.
All four will now be back in Australia during the Open and negotiations will resume immediately to secure their appearance.
