THE OPEN A quick guide to the 11 Australians at Royal St.George’s

A mighty 11 Australians will tee it up at the return of the Open Championship at Royal St.George’s this week.

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After a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Open Championship returns at Royal St.George’s in Kent, England this week.

A near-dozen Australians will tee it up in the 156-man field for the 149th Open including last week’s Scottish Open winner Min Woo Lee. Coming a week after Lucas Herbert’s Irish Open victory, the idea of an all-Aussie trifecta of the big-three UK and Ireland golf tournaments sound pretty good to us.

They’re joined of course by some of Australia’s better-known golfers who are also hoping to become the first Aussie to raise the Claret Jug since Greg Norman won in 1993.

Here is our quick guide to all 11 golfers’ recent form and their results at The Open Championship.

Australian TV coverage of The Open Championship is on FoxSports/Kayo and begins at 3:30pm Thursday afternoon (AEST).

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CAMERON SMITH
World ranking: 28
Last 5 events: (most recent) T30, MC, MC, T59, T9
Last 5 Open Championships: T20, 78, MC
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy

Not the greatest recent form from Cam Smith largely due to inaccuracy off the tee. But his most recent start at this event yielded a T20 at Royal Portrush which should give some confidence here this week. It should be interesting seeing him tee it up alongside Patrick Reed this week too. Remember this?

MARC LEISHMAN
World ranking: 33
Last 5 events: 3, 64, T57, MC, T21
Last 5 Open Championships: MC, 60, T6, T53, T2
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Francesco Molinari, Matt Wallace

Marc Leishman copped one of the biggest bad breaks in a major playoff when his ball found a divot in the middle of the 1st fairway at St.Andrews in 2015. A T6 in 2017 had us thinking a win was just around the corner but he’s struggled since. Like Smith, straightening up off the tee is the ley for Leish this week.

ADAM SCOTT
World ranking: 43
Last 5 events: T13, T35, T16, MC, 54
Last 5 Opens: MC, T17, T22, T43, T10
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas

Four straight top-10s between 2012 – 2015 for Adam Scott begun with the heartbreak at Royal Lytham that we’ve all tried to forget. Contrary to what you may think, Scotty has been good on the greens this year. But in some sort of weird trend for the top Aussies, they’re all struggling for accuracy off the tee and Scotty is no different. I think Scott could go better than of the Aussies this week but desperately, desperately needs a solid first round.

LUCAS HERBERT
World ranking: 49
Last 5 events: T4, 1, T19, T18, T71
Last 5 Opens: T51(2018)
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Sam Burns, Jorge Campillo

You want form? Look no further than Lucas Herbert. 4x Top-20s in his last four starts and a T4 at the Scottish Open followed his magnificent win at the Irish Open. This’ll be just his second Open Championship but Herbert looks in a good place to finish this tournament in a very good place.

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MIN WOO LEE
World ranking: 61
Last 5 events: 1, T17, T42, MC, T52
Last 5 Opens: T51(2018)
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Sam Burns, Jorge Campillo

Min Woo Lee earned himself a spot in his first-ever major championship courtesy of a stunning win at last week’s Scottish Open. The way Lee closed out the tournament shows he’s not afraid of playing under pressure. We can’t wait to see how Lee goes this week in front of the big crowds at Royal St.George’s.

MATT JONES
World ranking: 63
Last 5 events: T52, T36, T65, MC, MC
Last 5 Opens: MC(2018), T39(2016), T30(2015), T54(2014)
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Sam Horsfield

Jones has played 17 major championships in his career with a T21 at the PGA Championship in 2015 still his best result. You never quite know when Matt Jones is going to get hot; his win at the Honda Classic came off the back of a T55 and a missed cut.

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JASON DAY
World ranking: 68
Last 5 events: T14, T10, T44, MC, MC
Last 5 Opens: MC, T17, T27, T22, T4
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Joost Luiten, Johannes Veerman

Looked to have this links golf figured out there for a while but now no one is sure what Jason Day will bring to the golf course given his back troubles. Day has found some consistency with two top-15 finishes in his last two PGA Tour events. If his back is fine, we think hell around the mark on Sunday. If. If.

JASON SCRIVENER
World ranking: 103
Last 5 events: MC, T9, T6, T55, T3
Last 5 Opens:
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Keith Mitchell, Sam Bairstow (a)

Jason Scrivener hasn’t played an Open Championship, in fact, he’s only played in two previous majors. But his performance at this year’s PGA Championship showed the world, and himself, that Scrivener belongs on the big stage. Scrivener has followed that T23 with three top-10 finishes back on the European Tour.

BRAD KENNEDY
World ranking: 219
Last 5 events: MC, T44, T14, T43, MC
Last 5 Opens: MC (2012), MC (2011)
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Padraig Harrington, Sam Forgan

Brad Kennedy is yet to make the cut in his three major appearances including this year’s US Open. It’s been 9 years since Kennedy has been at The Open but 10 years ago his debut was right here at Royal St.George’s, so he knows this place and where to miss it.

DEYEN LAWSON
World ranking: 633
Last 5 events: MC, MC, MC, MC, MC
Last 5 Opens:
Round 1 and 2 grouping: Kurt Kitayama, Poom Saksansin

One of the great things about an Open Championship is that you can still earn your spot in the field via local qualification events. No matter how poor your recent tournament form has been. Hey, Ben Curtis won playing his first-ever major…

AARON PIKE
World ranking: 633
Last 5 events: T62, T12, MC, T32, T8
Last 5 Opens:
Round 1 and 2 grouping: John Catlin, Romain Langasque

Aaron Pike earned his spot thanks to a great finish at the Australian Open back in 2019 where he displayed some of that exquisite ball-striking ability that pops up from time to time.

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