Six Australians will tee it up this week at the 152nd edition of The Open, taking place at the testing Royal Troon in Scotland’s southwest.
From new faces looking to learn and develop their game on the toughest stage, to a former champion and other contenders for the top of the leaderboard, there’s plenty to look forward to from the green and gold contingent.
Aussie former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy and expert analyst and former pro Paul Gow joined Fox Sports’ Aussies at The Open preview program to size up the Aussie stars in action this weekend.
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ADAM SCOTT
After almost missing out on playing the US Open this year, he kept his incredible 23-year streak alive and will be competing in his 93rd consecutive major. It’s more than double the next best active player – Jordan Spieth at 46 – but it’s still a world away from the great Jack Nicklaus’ record of 146.
And Adam Scott has been at Royal Troon for The Open before, in 2004 and 2016, so experience is certainly on his side.
Gow said: “That (93-major streak) is quite amazing … It has been an amazing run.
“He’s had such a consistent career in golf with that beautiful golf swing. His putting has come of age, I’ll tell you what, he’s doing that a lot better.”
“43 years of age and I can tell you, Adam Scott is still thinking of winning this golf tournament. There’s no doubt.
“He’s played some really good golf this year without winning. But I think he’ll be quietly confident he’ll contend this week because he loves that environment.”
Can Scott contend at 93rd straight major | 01:25
Gow added: “He’s still hitting those types of shots we’re used to. Those skyrocketing shots that come in soft into the greens. He’s been a great at flighting his golf ball through the years so expect more (of that).
Scott enjoyed a sensational weekend at the Scottish Open, the traditional warm-up event to the major, including hitting an unbelievable driver shot off the deck, before finishing second in dramatic circumstances — his best PGA Tour result in three years.
He said on the weekend that competing at the majors remains a primary motivating factor – and that he still believes he can win.
“It’s really the motivating factor for me to keep my game at a high level,” he said. “You know, the odds are starting to get in my favour of winning another one. If I keep raking them up, I’ll get another one.
“I’m excited for The Open next week.”
CAM SMITH
The Australian claimed the Claret Jug in 2022 at St Andrews, and is certainly one to watch again this week – even if he hasn’t hit those same heights in the majors this year.
Geoff Ogilvy said: “It’s funny with Cam, I feel like it’s a different world playing out on LIV than playing against (Scottie) Scheffler and Xander (Schauffele) and those guys every week.
“He played well at the Masters without ever sort of contending. He was always sort of there on the bottom of the leaderboard. He didn’t really play amazingly at the US Open.”
But there’s no doubt about his ability.
“He’s obviously a high quality player, one of Australia’s best chances to win a major every time he tees it up,” Ogilvy added.
“He loves the big moments, I feel like Cam is built for the big moments.
“His short game’s outrageous, clearly, two years ago he won the Open at the Old Course (St Andrews). He can do this tournament, he knows he can win it.
“When he gets himself in the mix he’s hard to shake.
“Cam’s a chance, he just needs to get off to a good start and get that putter rolling.”
‘He knows he can win it’ | 00:57
JASON DAY
The 36-year-old has been excellent this season after rebuilding his swing over the last couple of years, with four top-ten finishes and solid performances at the majors, though he missed the cut at the US Open.
Paul Gow said: “He’s a guy who has changed his game. He obviously had to get his golf swing in check so he could be healthy enough to play the game. This year has been a really consistent year – there’s no up and downs for Jase, he’s played really consistently.
“He’s had four top tens on the US Tour and looked good at different times. He looked good at the Masters this year. He looked good at the PGA (Championship) at times.
“We know his short game is immaculate when it all clicks …. He wasn’t quite sure when (his game) would come along but I think it’s just progressing,” he added.
“Don’t leave him out. He’s really changed his game. He’s re-manufactured the way he plays the game.”
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Steady Day can’t be ruled out at Open | 00:55
MIN WOO LEE
We’ve all been waiting for Min Woo Lee to break through and win on the biggest stage. He’s finished runner-up in two events this season and only missed the cut once in 13 PGA Tour events in 2024.
And he’s got form on links courses, with the 25-year-old winning the Scottish Open in 2021.
“He’s clearly one of the best players in the world,” Geoff Ogilvy declared. “Everybody talks about ‘this guy’s going to start winning some big tournaments.’
“He played in Europe a bit, he won the Scottish Open so he likes links golf.
“He’s had three pretty good majors this year without really ever contending, he’s been around 20th in all three majors, made all three cuts.”
But he’s coming into form at the perfect time – and Ogilvy believes he’s primed to perform on the biggest stage.
“He just finished second in Detroit a couple of weeks ago so he’s finding a bit of form,” Ogilvy said.
“He loves this tournament and loves the stage. He’s built to show off. He’s built to show everyone how good he is.
“Coming to the Open after a decent year in the majors, I think he’s a real chance to do well.”
JASPER STUBBS
22-year-old Jasper Stubbs is an amateur on the brink of turning professional after a meteoric rise in recent years. That also saw him compete in the Masters this year, which experts believe will be a big boost this time around.
“Absolutely I think it will help,” Gow said. “Just walking into the environment knowing some of the players there, teaming up with the likes of Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, and Jason Day to have practice rounds and just learn.
“This is a real learning curve for this young man before he turns pro. It’s about time for him to turn pro after winning the Asian Amateur that got him status to play this week.”
He added: “He’s got a real, real tidy game. He’s long off the tee, he can move the ball both ways. When he won the Asian Amateur at Royal Melbourne last year his putting was absolutely exceptional. His distance control with everything was fantastic.
“He learned a lot from the Masters. Will he win this week? Probably not, but geez he’ll learn a lot.”
ELVIS SMYLIE
22-year-old Queenslander Elvis Smylie is another Aussie youngster on the rise, and finally burst through to the biggest stage by fighting through qualifying to make his major debut this week.
The son of two former professional tennis players, Smylie is a sensational talent with a bright future ahead.
Ogilvy said: “We’ve been waiting for Elvis to sort of get to this point for a long time. We heard about him when he was very young. Incredibly solid golfer, clearly some good golf DNA in his family!
“He’s been coming and he’s been coming and finally this year on the Australian tour he had a great summer, he made every cut, top 10 seven times.
“Now he’s finally got himself into a major, it’s going to be fun to see how he does.”