Australia will be the centre of the golfing universe for a second week running – but this time the foreign invaders have a realistic chance of leaving with the spoils.
The Australian Open will be played mainly on one of the world’s greatest courses, Kingston Heath in Melbourne, with the field also playing one round at nearby Victoria.
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And unlike the Australian PGA – where the home players continued to dominate by filling the first five places last week – the Open has been won by overseas golfers six times in the last nine years.
Poland’s Adrian Meronk and Joaquin Niemann of Chile are the most recent winners, while the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth have also put their names on the trophy in recent years.
There is no McIlroy this time, and Niemann is 9-2 favourite to retain the title, with PGA runner-up Cam Smith next best at 7-1.
But Elvis Smylie’s shock win last week underlined the fact that it often pays to shop around, and there are some interesting options lower down the marker.
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I am reluctant to desert Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen of Denmark, who almost justified each way support when he finished in a share of eight at the Australian PGA.
A best priced 22-1 means he offers decent each way value again, but I would prefer to make the 80-1 on offer for the ‘Big Rig’ – colourful American golfer Harry Higgs.
Higgs has been tipped for big things in the States, but he had to return to the Korn Ferry Tour this year after losing his PGA Tour card at the end of 2023.
That seemed to be a wake-up call. Higgs won twice on the Korn Ferry and went close a couple more times as he easily regained his playing rights for the top tier.
Higgs was fourth in the USPGA a few years ago, so he has shown he has the game to compete in better company than this. So he could be the overseas player to be on this week.
Smylie is around 50-1 to repeat last week’s success, but that victory is bound to have taken a lot out of the inexperienced 22 year old.
But it would not surprise me if we saw another hot prospect from Down Under – Harrison Crowe – make his mark.
Crowe won the New South Wales Open two years ago while he was still an amateur, and also claimed the prestigious Asia Pacific Amateur title.
He also finished in a tie for eight last week, his second top ten finish in a row. So at 250-1, he is worth a small wager.
Jack Buchanan is around the same odds and he played well enough last week to suggest he could be in the shake-up. And 14-1 shot Lucas Herbert is another Aussie I have not lost faith in.
His second round 66 was sandwiched by a pair of mediocre efforts. But he should appreciate this tougher test.
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The Ladies European Tour stages its final event of the year – the Open de Espana – and it might just throw up the best bet of the week.
Anne van Dam, the longest hitter in women’s golf, is a two-time winner of this event, and was runner-up last year.
She produced her best performance of the year by finishing fourth against a much stronger field in the individual event at the Aramco Series in Saudi Arabia last time out.
So her 22-1 odds look pretty generous.
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