Nine Aussies take on Royal Portrush at this week's 153rd Open Championship. Paul Prendergast reports on the Australians' chances in Northern Ireland.
Adam Scott
‘Scottie’ had us all up early and glued to our seats as the wet final round of the U.S. Open unfolded, only for the weather, luck and USGA rough that was as easy to extricate yourself from as the seaweeds of the Sargasso Sea to conspire against him.
A second major in his 96th consecutive major start was not to be but unlike the PGA Championship, where a late double bogey probably obscured the positive trends in his game from most, nobody will be in doubt that Scott can be in the reckoning at Portrush.
He will head over for his annual links pilgrimage in better form than at the same point last year and to a Championship that has always brought out some of the best in the Queenslander, where he has six top 10 finishes including last year at Troon.
We dare not speak of the closing stages of the 2012 Open in any detail, but there are few in the field more comfortable with links golf who have not hoisted a Claret Jug than he. Only a McIlroy or another Lowry win would be more well received by the locals than a Scott victory.
Cameron Smith
What to say about the form of the 2022 champion, who’s enduring a miserable stretch at the majors by his standards with five straight missed cuts dating back to last year’s Open at Royal Troon.
In a search for positives, the 31-year-old’s performances on the LIV Tour have been a little more encouraging, with three top 10s in April and May, and his putting and scrambling statistics on paper are still among the best. His struggles seem to be with his longer game at present and particularly, finding fairways consistently with his driver.
From a historical standpoint, his best Open finish outside his win in ‘22 was a T20th place at Portrush in 2019. If can harness those solid memories to complement the enormous amount of work he’ll be putting in to turn his game around, it’s not hard to see him back at the pointy end of the leaderboard where he belongs.
Jason Day
The Queenslander’s performances of late are trending well heading into the final major of the year.
A 4th in the Travelers Championship came just a week after an encouraging T23 finish at the U.S. Open at Oakmont, where a second round 67 had him among the leading contenders going into the weekend. Add to that a top 10 finish at The Masters and it’s hard for him not to be cautiously optimistic as he heads to Northern Ireland.
Granted, the Open Championship has been the one major where he has struggled comparable to the others, a tie for 4th during his world number one year in 2015 remains his only Top 10 finish at The Open.
It would be easy to point to his high ball flight as a critical element in any difficulties he’s had with links golf, but his record is also perplexing when you consider his much-envied short game and fighting spirit in times of diversity.
Regardless, when a former No.1 is in some form and is still ranked well inside the Top 50, it’s impossible to discount him from contending.
Min Woo Lee
Royal Portrush will be the reigning Houston Open champion’s fifth Open Championship start and a chance to bounce back from a disappointing missed cut at the U.S. Open last month.
Lee’s comfort in executing a game plan that centres on a penetrating ball flight and his impressive length should be a perfect complement to the challenges of a bouncy, breezy test at Portrush. Lee’s Open Championship history is not deep but let’s not forget he’s a past Scottish Open champion on the links at the Renaissance Club and has won a Vic Open at windswept 13th Beach.
All these experiences and memories can be called upon and like anyone, he just needs to put it together on any given week. And buoyed as he is by sister Minjee winning her third major championship at the recent KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, this could be it.
Marc Leishman
‘Leish’ returns for his 12th Open after a three-year hiatus and for a second consecutive major appearance, following a strong showing (T38) at Oakmont last month.
Of all the major championships, it is reasonable to expect Leishman’s creative game, capable of flighting the ball up and down to suit, and a background in windy conditions as both an amateur and professional would be best suited to an Open Championship.
That summation of his Open chances was best underlined at the 2015 Open at St Andrews, where the Victorian succumbed in a playoff alongside winner Zach Johnston and Louis Oosthuizen. Leishman also played in the 2019 Open at Portrush, finishing in a tie for 35th.
His recent good form includes a win on the LIV Tour in Miami and coupled with a wealth of experience at this level, another strong showing here is certainly within his reach.
Elvis Smylie
The Australian PGA champion will be making just his second Open start after pre-qualifying for the 2024 Open at Royal Troon. Smylie has only just started to get his feet wet on the highest stages, earning his DP World Tour card for this season and playing and making the cut in his first major in the United States at the PGA Championship in May.
His talent and potential are there for all to see and Portrush is another step forward in the hardworking 22-year-old’s upward career trajectory. Whether he needs time to build up to being comfortable contending or everything clicks from Day 1, we will wait and see.
His composure and ability to execute under pressure at the Australian PGA Championship, alongside Smith and Leishman and in front of a throng of family and friends, are memories that should stand him in good stead.
Curtis Luck
Luck, alongside fellow West Australian Peake, will be making his Open debut on the back of his runner-up finish at the 2024 Australian Open. The former U.S. Amateur champion eschewed exemptions into the U.S. and Open Championship in 2017, opting instead to turn professional, so his debut at the oldest championship is a long time in the making.
Getting a handle on form is difficult as Luck has only played two world ranking tournaments in 2025, both in Australia but one of which included a T3 at The National tournament on the Mornington Peninsula.
His Instagram handle: ‘International Man of Mystery’ could not be more accurate at the present time but recent results in local WA events (T2 in the Cottesloe Open) indicate he’s at least keeping his eye in prior to the long trek to Northern Ireland.
Ryan Peake
One of two Australian debutantes at The Open, Peake qualified by winning the NZ Open earlier this year, where he was also the first left-hander to win that championship since the great Bob Charles.
The last 12 months have proven to be a life changing for Peake with his breakthrough victory on the PGA Tour of Australasia and at the Sandbelt Invitational, where he played some gritty and imaginative golf on four very firm and fast world class layouts.
As all that have trodden this path before his will agree, playing your first major is a massive step up but it’s well documented that Peake has overcome bigger hurdles to get to where he is today. He’s a former representative team member of Cameron Smith’s from their amateur days and will also have two other West Australians in Lee and Luck for mutual support at Portrush.
He’s perfectly capable of at least making the cut and from there, everything else is gravy.
Lucas Herbert.
The 29-year-old Victorian became our ninth player to make the field after winning his 36-hole Final Qualifying on July 1 around the West Lancashire links in England.
This will be the 2021 Irish Open champion’s sixth Open appearance and his form over the past 12 months around the world would suggest this could be his best chance of featuring in a major championship, having debuted at the U.S. Open in 2018.
Herbert won the 2024 NSW Open and 2025 International Series Japan and coupled with a number of top-10 finishes on the LIV tour this year, it’s a body of work that could see Herbert turn his love of links golf into a great week at Portrush.
Australia/New Zealand - Open Champions.
Sir Bob Charles – 1963
Peter Thomson – 1954-56, 1958 & 1965
Kel Nagle – 1960
Greg Norman – 1986 & 1993
Ian Baker-Finch - 1991
Cameron Smith – 2022
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