The next two weeks are the biggest in Australian golf with Australia’s two “majors” and a host of Australian stars have returned including LIV trio Cam Smith, Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman, PGA Tour stars Jason Day, Min Woo Lee and Cameron Davis along with a host of DP World Tour stars. The Australian PGA Championship kicks off the two-week fiesta with Royal Queensland the host for the fourth straight year.
Key Stats/Skill Set Required
- Putting Average
- Strokes Gained: Putting
- Birdies
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- GIR
- Scrambling
Royal Queensland is a relatively short course with wide fairways that should be easy to find. The tournament is set to be won on a strong approach game and who performs best on and around the greens. Two of the last three tournaments have seen the winner reach -20 and -22 so going low is a must.
Key Correlation Courses/Tournaments
- Queensland PGA Championship
Defending champion Min Woo Lee absolutely loves Royal Queensland with his win last year preceded by two fourth-placed finishes. His average score here is 67.83, outstanding over 12 rounds. Lee went 64-66-66-68 last year to win by three strokes. Cam Smith in his current form is severe unders. Lee has been in great form with Top 25 finishes at the two DP World Tour playoff events and two T-2s on the PGA Tour this year. Looks a great bet.
Herbert was absolutely sensational in claiming his first Australian title last week when winning the NSW Open in difficult conditions on the final day. Herbert has snuck under the radar this year but he ranks Top 11 in both Putting Average and Birdies on LIV this year. With his win last week and Top 6 finishes in his last two LIV events, his form is good.
For a three-time winner on the DP World Tour and a bloke who finished 3rd in the Canadian Open and 4th at the Olympic Games this year, Victor Perez looks a very big price. While he has mixed his form this year, there are excuses as he shifted to the PGA Tour for the first time. Ranked 4th in three-putt avoidance and is typically a strong iron player so should be suited.
Kiwi who has been playing well of late. Posted a T-20 at The Open Championship this year while he has finished Top 25 at three of his last five starts. He has played here the last two years and despite making the cut on both occasions, he has not challenged. Ranks 29th in GIR and 27th in Driving Distance so if his putter is on he can find himself in the mix.
Highly exciting Australian youngster who has won three times in the last 12 months including the Queensland PGA Championship twice. Was super winning the event two starts back. Looks to have a highly promising future and can show up on debut this week.
Six Americans tee it up this week. Gumberg is not a household name but won the SDC Championship on the DP World Tour back in March in South Africa and looks the value in this market.
Happy to be with veteran Ashun Wu in this head-to-head market against Wenyi Ding. Wu had a tough year losing his DP World Tou card but does have a recent T20 at the Andalucia Masters.