The year’s final major, The Open Championship, has arrived with players set to tee off in the world’s oldest, and arguably most prestigious, event from Thursday afternoon.
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A total of 156 players will tee off in the hopes of lifting the Claret Jug late on Sunday, with a whopping nine of those players being Australians.
So just how will they fare and who are the nation’s best hopes?
Former touring pro and Fox Sports expert Paul Gow has handed down his verdict, including his picks to challenge world No.1 Scottie Scheffler this week, and a surprise contender.
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HOW WILL THE AUSSIES FARE?
“You’d have to look at Jason Day and Adam Scott. Adam Scott played his way into form at the US Open. Drove the ball a lot better, got a little unlucky with the conditions and with where his ball was lying on 11. Hit it through the back of green, and made bogey, and never really recovered from that.
“Jason Day’s been playing some solid golf. Two years ago, he finished second to Brian Harmon at The Open Championship. His golf has been trending well and he’s a scrambler. This golf gets tough and nasty, and gets hard to handle, and he loves to scramble his way around.
Scheffler: ‘Don’t Understand the Point’ | 07:46
“Probably two players that are the most in-form players that you’ve got to look at are two LIV players. Lucas Herbert won The Open qualifier final round and played some magnificent golf. He won the Irish Open, so he loves those links-type of conditions for a start. He also has won twice on the European Tour. He’s the guy that’s in form. He’s the guy that’s played well on the LIV Tour this year out of all the Aussies and the other one is Marc Leishman. The tougher the conditions get, the windier it gets (the better he gets). He’s from Warrnambool where the birds, they don’t fly it’s so windy. He’s won on the LIV Tour this year. Played the US Open and played well. I think he broke par in the final round there. His putting has got a little bit better and we know he can hit some amazing shots in those windy conditions. I think those two are the best Aussie chances.
Schauffele on horror year & Open hopes | 06:20
“There are some cracking stories out of the Aussies that are going there. Ryan Peake, the left-hander, who came back to golf at 32 years of age, worked with Ritchie Smith, his coach, and won the New Zealand Open, which got him the start in this event. This’ll be his first major championship. He’s a really good player. Dedicated himself back to golf after a really troubled teens and into his 20s. But he’s turned it around, and he’s a guy who played alongside Cameron Smith growing up.
“He’s a great story and so is Elvis Smylie. When we’re looking at the future of Australian golf, he’s one of them. He’s forging his way on the DP World Tour now after winning the Australasian Order of Merit. This is his second Open Championships, played last year. Played okay but didn’t make the cut. He played the US PGA this year and made the cut.”
WHAT ABOUT MIN WOO LEE?
“If he’s jealous of his sister winning, this will be the best motivator for him. Since he won the Houston Open, he hasn’t played that well. He hasn’t driven the ball well. 58 per cent of fairways and 62 per cent of greens. That’s not enough for someone like him. He’s got to hit more fairways and a lot more quality shots. Now, what is in his favour is he grew up at Royal Fremantle golf course and he can handle windy conditions if the wind gets up. I think this could be the thing that sparks him to get back on track to the way we know he can play.”
Why Scott & Day are genuine Open chances | 03:30
HAS LIV GOLF REALLY HURT CAMERON SMITH?
“I spoke to his coach, Grant Field, last week and they’re working on some parts of his golf swing and game. He’s 54 in driving accuracy and 62 in greens hit in regulation. That part of his game is really struggling. We know his short game is really good, his pitching is really good. And they’re working on that. In the LIV events when there’s less pressure, he’s been okay. I think he’s had a seventh and in Dallas, he’s had a 13th. So at particular times, they’ve been okay but in the three majors so far, when you’re in the heat of the battle, it hasn’t quite clicked.
“This week, he’s an Open champion, if it all clicks for him, bang, it’s back in. He’s a tough competitor and one of the toughest we’ve seen for a long time. I wouldn’t write him off just yet. If he had the same results by the end of next year, I’d say that the LIV has really affected him. I’m not quite sure, and I’m not buying into the idea that LIV has affected him just yet.”
Gow: McIlroy’s attitude HAS to change! | 02:58
WHO CAN REALLY CHALLENGE SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER?
“(Scottie) Scheffler, you can’t ever take anything away from him. If there are benign conditions, his iron play is the best in the world. His distance control with his irons is the best in the world. There is no doubt. The numbers back that up.
“The two that I’m looking at are: Tommy Fleetwood and Jon Rahm. Fleetwood, coming in with definitely a lot of confidence after the Travelers Championship. I know he failed on that occasion, but he’s played really well all year. He hasn’t won in the US, which is the monkey on his back, but he’s won ten times around the world. He’s won on the DP World Tour many, many times. He was runner-up to Lowry back in 2019. He was close again a couple of years later. He obviously loves it. The conditions suit him. He flights the ball. He’s a ball-striker. Everything just throws me towards him.
“The other is Jon Rahm. He’s played good in the majors. As bad as he played last year, he’s backed it up with some really good showings at the US Open and the PGA, obviously he fell away. If he makes those putts and birdies 14 and 15, Scheffler’s got a bit of heat on him. It didn’t happen but he’s had some solid results on the LIV Tour and these are the type of conditions he thrives on. He’s very creative around the golf course. His imagination is like all the Spanish, it’s just ridiculous.”
LIV golf move backfired on Cam Smith | 02:01
