Which Australians are on the field, chances, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Cameron Smith, Min Woo Lee

“He’s had such a consistent career in golf with that beautiful golf swing. His putting has matured, I’ll tell you, he’s doing a lot better.”

“43 years old and I can tell you Adam Scott is still thinking about winning this golf tournament. That’s for sure.

“He’s played some really good golf this year without winning. But I think he’s quietly confident that he’ll compete this week because he loves that environment.”

Gow added: “He’s still hitting the kind of shots we’re used to. Those towering shots that land softly on the greens. He’s been great at flying his golf ball over the years, so expect more (of that).

Scott enjoyed a sensational weekend at the Scottish Open, the traditional warm-up for the major tournament, including an incredible driver shot off the course before finishing second in dramatic circumstances. It was his best result on the PGA Tour in three years.

He said last weekend that competing in the majors remains a major motivator – 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 go in my favor to win another one. If I keep picking them up, I’ll get another one.

“I’m looking forward to The Open next week.”

CAM SMITH

The Australian won the Claret Jug at St Andrews in 2022 and is certainly one to watch again this week, even if he hasn’t reached the same heights in the majors this year.

Geoff Ogilvy said: “It’s funny with Cam, I feel like the world that plays out on LIV is totally different than when you’re playing against (Scottie) Scheffler and Xander (Schauffele) and those guys every week.

“He played well at the Masters without ever struggling a bit. He was always kind of at the bottom of the rankings. He didn’t really play great at the US Open.”

But there is no doubt about his ability.

“He’s clearly a high quality player, he’s one of the best chances for Australia to win a major every time he plays,” Ogilvy added.

“He loves the big moments, I feel like Cam is made for the big moments.

“His short game is outrageous, clearly, two years ago he won the Open on the Old Course (St Andrews). He can do this tournament, he knows he can win it.

“Once he gets involved, he’s hard to shake.

“Cam has a chance, he just has to get off to a good start and get his putter rolling.”

JASON DAY

The 36-year-old has been on a roll this season after building up his swing over the last few years, finishing in the top 10 four times and performing well in the majors, although he missed the cut at the US Open.

Paul Gow said: “He’s a guy who’s changed his game. He’s obviously had to get his golf swing under control so he’s healthy enough to play the game. This year has been a very consistent year – there’s been no ups and downs for Jase, he’s played very consistently.

“He’s had four top 10 finishes on the US Tour and looked good at different times. He looked good at the Masters this year. He looked good at times at the PGA (Championship).

“We know his short game is impeccable when everything falls into place… He wasn’t sure when (his game) would come, but I think it’s just progressing,” he added.

“Don’t discount him. He’s really changed his game. He’s reshaped the way he plays the game.”

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MIN WOO LEE

We’ve all been waiting for Min Woo Lee to break through and win on the biggest stage. He’s finished second in two events this season and has missed the cut just once in 13 PGA Tour events in 2024.

And he’s in form on links courses: the 25-year-old won the Scottish Open in 2021.

“He’s clearly one of the best players in the world,” Geoff Ogilvy said. “Everyone’s talking about ‘this guy’s going to win big tournaments.’

“He’s played a bit in Europe, he’s won the Scottish Open, so he likes links golf.

“He’s had three pretty good majors this year without really battling for them. He’s finished around 20th in all three majors and made the cuts in all three.”

But he has come into form at the perfect time – and Ogilvy believes he is ready to perform on the biggest stage.

“He was second in Detroit a couple of weeks ago, so he’s kind of back in shape,” Ogilvy said.

“He loves this tournament and the stage. He’s built to show off. He’s built to show everyone how good he is.

“After a decent year in the majors, he comes to the Open and I think he has a real chance to do well.”

JASPER STUBBS

Jasper Stubbs, 22, is an amateur who is on the verge of turning pro after a meteoric rise in recent years, which has also seen him compete in this year’s Masters, which experts believe will be a big boost this time around.

“I definitely think it will help,” Gow said. “Just getting out into the environment and knowing some of the players there, working with people like Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Jason Day to do practice rounds and just learn.

“This is a real learning curve for this young man before he turns pro. It is high time he turned pro after winning the Asian Amateur, which gave him the status to play this week.”

He added: “He’s got a really, really 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. Is he going to win this week? Probably not, but man, he’s going to learn a lot.”

ELVIS SMYLIE

Another young Australian on the rise is 22-year-old Elvis Smylie from Queensland, who this week finally made it to the biggest stage by qualifying and making his debut at a major tournament.

Smylie is the son of two former professional tennis players and is a sensational talent with a bright future ahead of him.

Ogilvy said: “We’ve waited a long time for Elvis to get to this point. We heard about him when he was very young. Incredibly good golfer, clearly some good golfing DNA in his family!

“He’s kept coming and coming and this year he finally had a great summer on the Australian tour, hitting all the numbers and making seven top 10s.

“Now that he finally has a major, it will be fun to see how he does.”