The Australian Open tees off this Thursday at The Australian Club in Sydney. Founded in 1882 it is the oldest club in the country and was last used for the Open in 2007 when Craig Parry was the Champion. The course record is 64 which was set by Greg Norman, Steve Elkington and Craig Parry.
Measuring 6610 mtrs with a Par 71 (changed from a 70 by organisers) this private members course is a sight to behold. The groundsmen have the course it tip top condition and we are sure to see some exciting golf over the four days. This is a tough course where accuracy off the tee and good putting is required. There is plenty of water that comes into play around the course and bunkers are positioned in several landing zones.
If the wind comes up then almost every hole will have a cross wind which could change the leader board very quickly.
The bookies Top 5 in betting are $3.75 Rory McIlroy, $5.00 Adam Scott, $11.00 Jordan Spieth, $15.00 John Senden and $19.00 Geoff Ogilvy.
Other notable players are Boo Weekley, Brendon De Jonge, Kyle Stanley, Zac Blair and Daniel Chopra.
The three players to keep an eye on this week are-
Adam Bland $51.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
Adam has had a great season in 2014 starting the year ranked no.556 and now sees himself at no.264 going into the Aussie Open. From 22 starts he’s made 13 Top 25’s and 7 Top 10’s.
Fifteen of his starts have been on the Japan tour where he is ranked 9th in sand save percentages, 9th in greens in regulation and 14th in scoring average. Of those 15 starts he made 9 Top 25’s and 5 Top 10’s. That’s pretty consistent golf.
With three top seven finishes from his last four starts he heads into the Australian Open in great nick. At the Aussie Masters in Melbourne last week he opened with a 75 then produced three rounds of 68-69-69 which were all under par to finish in a tie for 5th place.
It is also worth noting that Bland finished T10th at the Open last year so he knows what is expected on the main stage of the Australasian tour.
Bryden Macpherson $126.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
Macpherson has racked up the frequent flyer points this year having played on the Oneasia tour, China tour and Australasian tour. From his 19 starts this year he has made 9 Top 25’s and an impressive 7 Top 10’s.
Having had 10 starts on the China tour and amassing 6 Top 10 finishes he finds himself at 7th on the China tour order of merit. If he brings that kind of performance to the Australian Club this week big things could be on the cards.
Back in October Bryden had back to back missed cuts at the WA Open and Perth International. He had a three week break after that and came back refreshed and hungry. He had a T8th on the China tour at the Nine Dragons Open then backed it up last week with a T11th at the Australian Masters.
Having finished T4th in last years Aussie Open you can expect Macpherson to be in a positive frame of mind heading into this week.
James Nitties $41.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
I was expecting to see Nitties at around the 25/1 to 33/1 mark this week. So when Sportsbet put up the 40/1 he had to be added to the list.
In 2007 on this course James was T5th only two shots back from the winner Craig Parry. Last year he was T14th so we know he loves the Aussie Open. It’s the big one that all the Aussie boys like to claim. After all Greg Norman has five titles.
James has spent most of the year on the web.com tour with mixed results. From 24 starts he has had 10 missed cuts and just the one Top 10 finish. However back home in Australia is where we really want to check his form.
His last five starts have all been in Australia and his form is heading in the right direction at each start. T41st WA Open Championship, T30th Perth International, T20th WA PGA Championship, 3rd NSW Open and T2nd Australian Masters. So the next obvious result is a win!
Considering his current form and Australian Open form you would have to have Nitties as a genuine each way selection and at 40/1 that represents excellent value.
Last Week
It was a good week for our three selections last week with all three making the cut. Zac Blair managed a T25th in his first Aussie start, Stephen Dartnall was T17th while Matthew Griffin was T5th.
Good luck and good punting.