THE tradition won't continue, for this year at least - there will be no Australian Masters in 2016.
After 37 summers of golden jackets being handed out, event organisers IMG have declared the iconic Australian event won't go ahead this year, and the ongoing future of the event remains unclear. 
"As part of IMG's ongoing evolution of its golf events business, the company is in the process of re-imagining its Australian Masters event to ensure the delivery of a world-class experience," IMG spokesman David Rollo said in statement. "To best execute a change of this scale, IMG today announced that the Australian Masters will not be played in 2016.
"IMG will unveil its new plans for the event in the coming months." A packed golf calendar, which will include the World Cup of Golf at Kingston Heath likely to feature world number one Jason Day, is believed to be a contributing factor.
Despite speculation the Masters could move to Perth, no deals have been done regarding the event being played anywhere in 2017 and beyond.
The Masters, won six times by Aussie legend Greg Norman in the 1980s and 90s, returned to its traditional home at Huntingdale last year for the first time since 2008, having toured the sandbelt since leaving its home of nearly 30 years.
After luring Tiger Woods to Melbourne twice in 2009 and 2010, with unprecedented crowds flocking to the event, Masters organisers have struggled to attract big names. This year it was rocked by the tournament-eve withdrawal of drawcard Ernie Els, before two-time champ Adam Scott returned, with his major sponsor Uniqlo, to help keep the event afloat.
The Masters, first played in 1979, has been won by some of the biggest names in golf including Norman, Woods, Scott, Bernhard Langer, Mark O'Meara and Ian Baker-Finch.Peter Senior won his third Masters at Huntingdale last year, in what could yet be the final Masters.