While many of the best golfers in the world are taking a well-earned break from the rigours of competing, others have gone the other way and travelled thousands of miles to Australia. Jason Day and Jordan Spieth finished in the top 10 of last week’s Australian Open and this week it’s the turn of Sergio Garcia, Marc Leishman and Adam Scott to contest the Australian PGA Championship.
Quality Field Gets Another Crack at Royal Pines
Royal Pines Resort on Queensland’s Gold Coast is hosting the Australian PGA Championship for the fifth time. The first three renewals at Royal Pines were won by Australian golfers but Harold Varner III became only the second American to win this tournament 12 months ago. Varner made the most of his power around the lengthy course and coped best with the hot conditions to rack up a score of -19, comfortably the best winning score at Royal Pines.
Varner, who also finished as a runner up in the 2015 Australian PGA Championship is back to defend his title but he’ll have to cope with markedly different weather conditions this time around. Showers are in the forecast for each day of play with the potential for thundery downpours on the weekend. Weather delays will upset the rhythm of the leaders but the rain will make the greens more receptive, handing an advantage to those who prefer being able to shoot straight at the pin.
Scott’s Royal Pines Record to Improve
Adam Scott will go down in history as one of Australia’s greatest golfers. Like past Aussie heroes Greg Norman, William Dunk and Ian Baker-Finch, Scott is a winner of the Australian PGA. He claimed the title when the tournament made its debut at Royal Pines in 2013.
That he has also lost in a playoff and was chasing Varner down last year is no real surprise given that Royal Pines is his hometown course. Scott’s been playing on the layout since he was a boy and knows it as well as anybody. His form’s nothing to write home about but on a receptive course that he loves, Scott is a real danger at 9/1 with Bet365.
Kiwi Fox Set for Another Big Week
Ryan Fox wasn’t even the best well known sportsman in his family when he turned up to Royal Pines last year. The son of an All Black, Fox has plenty to live up to but his golf game has been good enough over the last 12 months to start making headlines of his own.
Fox is one of the longest hitters on the European Tour. He’s utilised that power at courses that suit with five top 10 finishes last season. The next goal for Fox is to take the game that’s won him four tournaments on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Challenge Tour and start winning in the big leagues. The year that he’s had, competing against some of the biggest names in golf, will fill the 30-year-old with confidence as will his return to Royal Pines where his form reads 9-28-11. At 40/1 with Bet365, Fox screams each way value so don’t miss out.