WHO WILL FLY THE AUSSIE FLAG?
THE World Cup of Golf is fast approaching and Australian golf fans are still in the dark about which two players will be representing them in Melbourne … Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The tournament dictates that, “the top ranked player of each qualified country may pick any player from the same country within the top-500 on the Official World Golf Ranking.”
So, with that in mind, Jason Day – who at the time of writing is ranked No.8 in the world – should receive that honour when the cut-off date arrives on September 13.
The 30-year-old won the Cup in 2013 alongside his fellow Queenslander Adam Scott. So he might therefore be inclined to call upon the 2013 Masters champion to partner him at Metropolitan Golf Club.
But Day’s own involvement in the World Cup is under a cloud of uncertainty. His wife, Ellie, has fallen pregnant and will be due around the time the event kicks off in November – and after their devastating
miscarriage last year, there is very little chance he will want to leave her side at such a crucial time.
If the former World No.1 does decide to stay home in Ohio, Australia’s World Cup responsibilities would then fall to Marc Leishman, who is currently World No.16. The Victorian said during a teleconference earlier this year that he would “probably go on form” or the next highest ranked player when hypothetically selecting his playing partner.
“You would probably go for the next in line,” Leishman said. “But if someone’s been hot and had a really good playoffs or something like that, or one of us wins a major … It would be hard not to choose someone who had won a major. Hopefully I will be worrying about that in a few months’ time.”
If that turns out to be the case, Leishman will most likely be phoning Cameron Smith, who has risen to World No.43 off the back of multiple top-10s on the PGA Tour this season.
“I have spent a fair bit of time with Cam,” Leishman said. “He’s such a good player … He’s got one of the best wedge games I have seen.”
However, like Day, Leishman has played frequently alongside Adam Scott – including the 2016 World Cup at Kingston Heath – and seems to have built a solid partnership with the 37-year-old.
The man from Warrnambool could also turn to a youngster like Lucas Herbert, who would bring a certain degree of enthusiasm that might be lost on one of the more experienced campaigners.
Herbert, 22, has risen more than 100 spots in the world ranking this year and – at the time of writing – was set to make his major debut at Shinnecock Hills before travelling to Carnoustie for The Open Championship.
So although we are no closer to knowing who will be heading to Melbourne for the World Cup, the number of players who could potentially fly the Aussie flag at Metropolitan is surely a good sign for our chances in the storied event.
IF THE FORMER WORLD NO.1 DOES DECIDE TO STAY HOME IN OHIO, AUSTRALIA’S WORLD CUP RESPONSIBILITIES WOULD THEN FALL TO MARC LEISHMAN ...