The Australasians at Royal Portrush
The Open Championship Trophy stands proud on the shores of Royal Portrush – image R&A Getty Images
The 153rd Open Championship will be played for the third occasion in Northern Ireland when the event gets underway at Royal Portrush on Thursday 17th July, when a total of eleven Australasians will tee it up.
In alphabetical order, Jason Day, Ryan Fox, Lucas Herbert, Daniel Hillier, Min Woo Lee, Marc Leishman, Curtis Luck, Ryan Peake, Adam Scott, Elvis Smylie and Cameron Smith get their chance at golf’s major title, Luck and Peake to play the event for the first occasion and Scott the most experienced of the group playing the Open Championship for the 25th occasion.
Jason Day is the group’s second most experienced, having teed it up in 12 previous Opens.
Day is Australasia’s highest world-ranked player in the group at present, but his form has been a roller coaster for much of the year; the occasional brilliance overshadowed by some ordinary efforts, including two missed cuts in his last four starts. Day has just two top tens in his 12 starts at the Open, the best of those coming in 2023 when runner-up to Brian Harman.
Ryan Fox will play his 9th Open Championship, his best effort when 16th at this very venue in 2019, but, that aside, his next best was when 25th last year. Fox has, however, taken his game to a new level this year with two wins on the PGA Tour and he arrives in Northern Ireland as a much more confident and credentialed player than ever before. He has a solid record generally on links golf courses and could well better his previous best in the event this week.
Min Woo Lee’s record in the event is well below his general career standing, having played the Open Championship on four occasions for two missed cuts and a best of 21st. He plays Royal Portrush for the first occasion, but his form since his win in Houston earlier this year has fallen off a little.
Adam Scott has a very mixed record at the Open Championship. The undoubted highlight was when runner-up to Ernie Els in 2012, dropping four shots over the closing four holes to miss a playoff by one. The 44-year-old (45 this week) is, however, playing some fine golf of late and was an encouraging 17th in Scotland last week.
Cam Smith’s career highlight came in 2022 when he won the Open Championship at St Andrews, but, that aside, his record in the event is hardly inspiring, with only one other top twenty in his other five starts. His form in Liv Golf this year has been below his best, although it was a little better last week when 7th in Spain.
Marc Leishman earned his place in the field courtesy of his placing at last year’s Australian Open, but he does have three of four very good finishes in the event, including his playoff loss at the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews. He missed the cut at Royal Portrush in 2019, but after winning earlier in the year on the LIV Tour, his most recent form is below what he needs to do well this week.
Daniel Hillier will play his 5th Open Championship with a best of 31st last year, but after missed cuts in his last two starts this year in Germany and Scotland, things will need to improve sharply if he has a chance of bettering his previous best in the event.
Lucas Herbert will play his 5th Open Championship, his best when 15th behind Cam Smith at St Andrews in 2022. Herbert has played well in Liv Golf events this year and did win an International Series event in Japan a couple of months ago, but this is another level again.
Elvis Smylie is in the field courtesy of his great play on the PGA Tour of Australasia last season and will play his second Open Championship, having missed the cut last year. After what has been a run of indifferent form in 2025, he played a little better in Scotland last week but is playing well below his capabilities at present.
Curtis Luck and Ryan Peake will debut at the Open Championship, Luck courtesy of a runner-up finish at the Australian Open and Peake due to his surprise but welcome win at the New Zealand Open.
Looking at the field from a wider angle, the best prospects in this writer’s view are Jon Rahm, the defending champion Xander Schauffele, and Rory McIlroy, who, despite the pressure of playing in front of his home fans, family, and friends, should be in the mix on Sunday.
For slightly longer odds, Sepp Straka has been in fine form on the PGA Tour this season and does have a runner-up finish in this event in just three previous starts.
