Australia’s richest event begins tomorrow with some quality contenders having serious claims on the ISPS Handa Perth International trophy. Brendan James takes a look at the serious contenders from home and abroad.

World No.23 Dustin Johnson, as the highest ranked player in the tournament, will rightfully start favourite to win his first title outside the United States. He’s a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour and a prolific money-earner, having pocketed nearly $20 million in prizemoney since turning professional in 2007.

He started 2013 with a bang, winning the season-opening Tournament of Champions in Hawaii but it would prove to be his only victory for the year. Johnson, one of the most athletic players on the PGA Tour, withdrew with the flu after nine holes in the second round of the Sony Open a week after his win.

Dustin Johnson started 2013 well with a win in the season-opening Tournament of Champions. He hopes to end the year the same way. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

He seemed to be back in form but then he started having problems with his back and wrist. He tweaked his back at the Players Championship and he didn’t play a full tournament for nearly two months.

But the second half of his year has been much better and he finished his 2013 PGA Tour campaign with a fifth place finish in the Tour Championship.

At the launch of the Perth International yesterday, Johnson looked fit and raring to go. “I feel good and the course looks great,” he said. “I can’t wait to get started.”

Injury also hampered fellow American, and defending champion, Bo Van Pelt late in the season. He strained his Achilles Heal and tried to play through the pain but it caused him to injure his hip after favouring his opposite leg when walking.

He arrives for his defence light on for competitive golf, having not played for five or six weeks. But he feels confident the rest is just what he needed to try and recapture the form that saw him beat Jason Dufner for the title last year. Twelve months ago he was coming off a season where he finished in the top-10 on the PGA Tour ten times in just 24 starts. This year, he’s had one top-10 but admits Lake Karrinyup is one course “that really suits my eye”.

South African Branden Grace has prepared well for this event, having arrived in Perth last Saturday after his disappointing performance in the Presidents Cup where he failed to register a point for the Internationals. He’s played several practice rounds and has been enjoying the sights of the West Australian capital so he’ll be ready to go tomorrow.

Grace has had a consistent year, which was not reflected in his form at the Presidents Cup. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Grace’s year has been a consistent one and he currently sits seventh on the European Tour Race to Dubai ranking, courtesy of top-six finishes in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and at the World Matchplay in Bulgaria earlier in the year.

If Grace can claim the top prize here this week he will follow a great tradition of South Africans winning at Lake Karrinyup with Retief Goosen (2002) and Ernie Els (2003) victorious in the Johnnie Walker Classic.

Local hero Brett Rumford has already won twice on the European Tour in 2013 but he is yet to claim a win on home soil. This week’s Perth International presents his best chance in many years and a victory will further enhance his aspirations to capture the Race to Dubai, which wraps up at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai between November 14 and 17.

One player who has not been spoken of much in dispatches is Englishman Paul Casey, who returned to the winner’s circle at the Irish Open in June, when he holed a 45-foot eagle putt to grab the title.

Casey celebrates after clinching the Irish Open with a monster eagle putt. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Casey, who was the No.3 ranked player in the world in 2009, started the week of his Irish Open win ranked No.169 after poor form and injuries – most notably a broken collarbone suffered while snowboarding before the start of the 2012 season – had taken their toll.

Casey loves the Lake Karirnyup course, having finished fourth behind Van Pelt last year, and 18th behind Els in 2003. He will definitely be in the mix this week.

Englishman Ross Fisher has found some form in recent months after starting 2013 disastrously in the United States, where he missed eight cuts in 13 starts. Three top-10s from his previous four starts in Europe has him knocking on the door of a spot back in the top-100 of the world ranking, a place he has not been since 2010.

Of the Aussie entrants, there is a real mix of experience and youth teeing it up at Karrinyup.

Craig Parry is always a crowd favourite no matter where he plays in Australia and Perth will be no different. But it is hard to imagine the 47-year-old part-timer will be on the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon but ‘Paz’ has made a career out of proving he should never be written off.

Local knowledge can be a great advantage and one player who has it in spades at Lake Karrinyup is Kim Felton. Despite winning multiple West Australian Opens and PGA Championships, the 38-year-old has never won a major Australian event and this week presents a real opportunity for ‘Felts’ to finally get a big one over the line. He plays out of the Karrinyup club and knows its nuances and perfect playing lines better than most in the field.

He’s also played himself into some form. He finished tied for 4th at last week’s WA Open at nearby Mt Lawley Golf Club, but it was his weekend rounds of 66-68 that will have him enthused. He mixed 14 birdies with four bogies over 36 holes and, if not for a second round 77, he would have been well in contention.

Of the younger brigade, 20-year-old Jake Higginbottom has been a strong performer on the Asian Tour this year after winning the New Zealand Open as an amateur last year. The New South Welshman is exciting to watch and if he gets a sniff of victory come Sunday he won’t take his foot off the pedal.

Watt is one of the game's best amateurs and is quite capable of upsetting the pros this week at Lake Karrinyup. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Nor will the only amateur in the field – local young gun, Brady Watt, who accepted an invite to play in the tournament. Watt, who lives 45 minutes north of the course at Yanchep, reached the No.1 spot in the world amateur ranking for a week in August after impressive performances during the year, including a win in the Australian Strokeplay. The Perth crowd will be full of encouragement for Watt, who is one of this country’s most exciting prospects.

THE TIP: Dustin Johnson will be hard to beat. With his length (he’s ranked No.2 on the PGA Tour for driving distance) all the par-5s are reachable and some of the par-4s will only require a flick wedge approach. A score of about 16 under is likely to win this week and that is easily attainable for Johnson. Paying $8.50.

THE SMOKIE: Victorian Marcus Fraser has not had a great year but he’s one of the best putters in the field, which will hold him in good stead if the Lake Karrinyup greens start breathing fire over the weekend.