AUSTRALIAN PGA
AUSTRALIAN PGA CHAMPIONSHIP RACV Royal Pines, Gold Coast
6717m, Par 72
Prizemoney: $1.5 million Live TV: Channel 7 (TodaySunday, 11am-4pm Qld time)
Ladbrokes odds: Marc Leishman $5.50, Cameron Smith $6, Harold Varner III $10, Jason Scrivener $17, Lucas Herbert $17. Others: John Senden $41, Jake McLeod $41, Andrew Johnston $67, Geoff Ogilvy $81 Defending champion:
Cameron Smith
STAR POWER
CAMERON SMITH – Got to 18under-par last year. Knows the course well, will have heaps of birdie chances again and his supreme short game will save him shots from the tricky hollows beside the greens. You’ll hear the noisy “Cam Crew” in the galleries because he’s the new crowd magnet.
MARC LEISHMAN – A hot 67-65 start before he cooled off in the PGA last year. Can rip the par fives apart and will have numerous eagle looks. Loves the chilled atmosphere of the Coast but the business of winning his first big Aussie tournament is huge for him.
ANDREW JOHNSTON – “Beef” hasn’t had a top 10 since August and a newcomer to Royal Pines is unlikely to win but the engaging Brit will be huge fun interacting with the galleries. He leads a strong overseas challenge with Americans Harold Varner III, the 2016 champ, and Troy Merritt, plus Kiwi Ryan Fox.
BEST VALUE BET:
Cam Davis $26 THE ROUGHIE: Ashley Hall $251 JIM TUCKER’S TIP:
Marc Leishman – It’s breakthrough time. He’s desperate to fill the gap on his resume ... a big title in his homeland. This is his fifth visit to Royal Pines so he knows the course better than most.
SCAR TISSUE HOLE
No.18, 426m Par 4 – The closing hole once had a pancake flat green but now plenty of pros grumble about course designer Graham Marsh going overboard with the savage run-offs on both sides of a raised green. Smith bogeyed the 18th in his final round last year before winning in a play-off. Birdies are tough to find when it’s driver-five iron into the wind.
TODAY’S TEE TIMES
6am (10th): Cameron Smith, Andrew Johnston, Curtis Luck 6.10am (10th): Marc Leishman, Ryan Fox, Adrian Otaegui
11am (1st): Lucas Herbert, Renao Paratore, Jason Scrivener
11.10am (1st): Harold Varner III, Geoff Ogilvy, John Senden