Steve Alker heads the large Australasian contingent – file image courtesy of USGA

The major championship in world golf season is drawing to a close, but two events remain with this week’s Men’s ISPS Handa Senior Open Championship and next week’s AIG Women’s Open still to come.

This week at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England, a field consisting of seven former Open Champions, five US Open Champions, five PGA Champions, and three Masters Champions, some of whom have won more than one, line-up for one of the more prestigious events on the over-50 calendar.

Making up the field of 144 players will be 14 Australasians, including, in alphabetical order, Steve Alker, Stephen Allan, Stuart Appleby, David Bransdon, Mark Brown, Michael Campbell, Greg Chalmers, Richard Green, Scott Hend, Mark Hensby, Michael Long, Rod Pampling, Cameron Percy and Michael Wright.

The event has been won only three times by Australasians since its inception in 1987, with Sir Bob Charles winning it twice and the late Ian Stanley winning it in 2001.

Steve Alker will likely again perform well given his stunning success on the PGA Tour Champions including a win and seven top-five finishes this season alone.

Victorian Stephen Allan has won twice on the PGA Tour Champions this season while US based Lismore golfer, Mark Hensby, might also be considered a player from this part of the world to watch this week given his great showing at the US Senior Open where he finished 4^th behind Padraig Harrington.

Scott Hend currently leads the Legends (European Senior Tour) Tour’s Order of Merit while Mark Brown is one for one on the Legends Tour after his recent debut win in Switzerland.

 

Scheffler and caddy, Ted Scott, enjoying yet another major win – image Stuart Franklin R&A via Getty Images 

In yet another display of his amazing golfing skills and, equally important, his impressive course management, Scottie Scheffler has won his 4^th major championship title with a four-shot victory over Harris English at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

If his chasers through 54 holes were hoping for any chinks in the 29-year-old’s armour today, then three birdies in his opening five holes essentially put the title beyond doubt. Although he would double bogey his 8^th hole after taking two to exit from a fairway bunker, he was quickly back in cruise control, playing the next ten holes in 2 under for a round of 68 and yet another emphatic victory.

It was Scheffler’s 13^th PGA Tour victory since his the Open Championship two years ago and his 17^th overall and with earnings now just over US$90 million his earnings he now sits behind only Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson in that category and with seemingly much more to come he is on track to become the greatest ever money winner on the PGA Tour over the next couple of years.

It is not only the number of wins that has been so impressive, but that Scheffler has produced 21 other top tens in that time highlights his amazing consistency brought about by outstanding on-course management and the skill to benefit from such, has his fellow players wondering just how they might challenge his domination of the game.

Scheffler came under a little pressure early today when he faced lengthy par putts at the 6^th and 7^th holes, but he converted both, and from that point on, he never missed a green with his pinpoint distance control.

“It’s a very special feeling,” said the champion. “It takes a lot of work to get to this point in my career.

“This was a tough week. It was challenging. The golf course was playing really tough, and I had to focus very hard over the course of the weekend.

“Really, the only blemish over the last 36 holes was the double on 8, but I did a good job of resetting and coming back with a birdie on 9.

“I guess this one was different from the PGA in terms of I had a decent lead to start the day. PGA, I felt like I struggled a bit on the front nine and was able to kind of push forward and win it on the back nine, whereas this one, I felt like I built up a lead. It got a little close there after the double on 8, but like I said, bounced back on 9 and was able to keep a pretty sizable lead for most of the day.”

Scheffler was asked about the now iconic walk to the last green for the champion.

“It’s a very special walk. To be honest with you, walking up 18, I didn’t really know if I was going to get that much support from the crowd. The crowd, I think, wanted somebody else to win this week, and I kind of got to play spoiler a little bit, which was fun as well.

“It really was, it was a great reception. I heard a lot of the fans supporting me out there today. It was a really cool environment to be able to play in. You had a lot of guys out there supporting the local favourites, and you had some people from the States coming out and supporting us. It was a really interesting day, but it was a lot of fun.”

“At the end of the day, I have a tremendous amount of gratitude towards moment like these. I literally worked my entire life to become good at this game and play this game for a living. It’s one of my greatest joys of my life to compete out here. To be able to win The Open Championship here at Portrush is a feeling that’s really hard to describe.”

The great battle for second place was eventually won by American Harris English whose final round of 66 saw him edge clear of last week’s Scottish Open winner, Chris Gotterup, while Wyndham Clark, Haotong Li and Matthew Fitzpatrick shared 3^rd place but seven further players were within two shots of that trio, highlighting a great final round contest for podium honours.

Australian Marc Leishman had a final round battle after a solid week to that point, eventually finishing in 52^nd place after a final round of 75 in a week where the Australasians performed well below expectations.

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Image courtesy of Stuart Kerr R&A via Getty Images

Marc Leishman in action this week – image Tom Shaw R&A / Getty Images 

The eleven-strong Australasian contingent at this week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush has been reduced to just one as the event heads into the weekend.

Victorian Marc Leishman added an impressive second round of 68 on Friday to finish his opening 36 holes at 1 under par and in a share of 26^th place, but for the other ten players from our part of the world, it has been a week of mixed fortunes.

“Everything felt pretty good,” said Leishman after his round. “I putted well. Probably left a couple out there. I had a three-putt on 5, but that was a really tough pin. Drove it well, didn’t hit any fairway bunkers today, which was good. That’s what killed me yesterday.

“No, happy with how everything was feeling. Obviously, that little mishap on 13 there. It’s a bit scary when that happens. Two-hole stretch that didn’t sort of do a whole lot wrong apart from that tee shot on 13. Happy with the day.”

Leishman shanked his tee shot at the 13^th, which led to a bogey and followed up with another dropped shot at the next.

“I was certainly thinking about it when I was trying to cut up an 8-iron into the last, exactly the same shot I hit on 13. Yeah, obviously you try to block it out of your head, but they do say the hardest shot in golf is the one after a shank. I felt like every shot coming in was that shot.”

“It was tough, but you’ve got to laugh about it and hope it doesn’t happen again for a while.”

New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier opened with an encouraging round of even par 71, but today, despite an early morning tee time, he could only record round of 73 to miss the cut by one, made even more frustrating by dropping shots at his 16^th and 18^th holes.

Jason Day and Ryan Fox also missed by one, Fox’s second round of 68 a big improvement on his opening 75 but falling just short of the required number he needed to make any further progress in the tournament.

Day added a round of even par 71 to his opening 73, but the damage from his opening nine of 39 on Thursday morning could not be repaired and he misses just his third cut in 13 starts in the event.

Elvis Smylie did his best in trying to make the weekend when he birdied two of his last three holes to record a round of 71 but it, too, fell just short, in his case by two shots.

Lucas Herbert would miss by three, Minwoo Lee by four, Curtis Luck, Cam Smith and Ryan Peake by seven, and Adam Scott by eight after his horror round of 79.

The leader at the halfway mark is none other than the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, who gave a clinic during his stunning round of 64 to take a one-shot lead over a resurgent Matthew Fitzpatrick, who produced the second-best round of the day and the week with his 6-under 65.

Scheffler appears on the brink of a 4^th major title and what would be the third of the four needed to make up the Grand Slam. Admittedly, a win is no lay down misère at this stage, but his great consistency and his growing understanding of playing golf of this nature and in these conditions, has him as the man to beat over the next 36 holes.

“When we were teeing off, depending on what weather forecast you looked at, it was going to tell you something different,” said Scheffler. “It was super sunny when we were on the driving range, I’m out there in short sleeves, it’s warm out. Then we get to the 1st hole, it’s still sunny. Then all of a sudden, you look around and it’s super dark and it starts pouring rain. You’re like, boy, I wonder how long this is going to last.

“Fortunately, it didn’t pour the whole time. We only had maybe four or five holes where it was really coming down, and I was able to take advantage of the holes where we had some good weather.”

Scheffler is looking to become only the second player to win The Open when being world number one (the last was Tiger Woods in 2000, 2005, and 2006).

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Daniel Hillier’s round of even par 71 heads the Australasians – image Stuart Kerr R&A via Getty 

With play on day one of the 153^rd Open Championship drawing to a close, the fact that 33 players have finished under par over a testing golf course and under typically demanding links golf weather bears testament to Royal Portrush being well set up to examine the skills of the world’s best fairly.

4 under par 67, held by five golfers, leads the way, but 29 players are within two of that lead, and with 72 players within five, then anyone within those parameters and perhaps beyond has done enough to feel that they are still very much a chance to contend over the weekend.

Norway’s Jacob Skov Olesen, China’s Haotong Li, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout and American Harris English all begin round two with a share of the lead, Olesen’s bogey at the last hole of his morning round eventually costing him the honour of leading the event into tomorrow’s second round.

The eleven-strong Australasian contingent is currently headed by New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier, at even par 71. The 26-year-old Wellingtonian is playing his fifth Open Championship, where his best finish was 31^st last year.

Hillier bogeyed the first and third holes but birdied the second, the highlight of his round coming at the par 5 12^th hole, where after a 225-yard approach he holed a 16-footer to move 1 under for the day before he bogeyed the 14^th to eventually finish at even par and in a share of 32^nd place.

Cam Smith and Adam Scott are both at 1 over 72, Smith’s outward nine of 39 rescued by an impressive inward nine of 33 where he birdied twice, no doubt leaving him boosted by the recovery. Smith played in one of the first few groups out on day one and will therefore be faced with an afternoon tee time on day two, which might or might not work in his favour.

“It was pretty good, said Smith. “Pretty solid, particularly that back nine. Could have really got away from me, I think. Hung in there nice and just committed to some swings, what I’ve been doing the last few times out. Gave myself a little bit of a talking to through nine and played that last nine really solidly.

“Definitely a bit of a confidence boost today on the back nine for sure. When stuff’s not going through our way sometimes, like I said, it can get really away from me. I did a really good job of hanging in there, a bit of Queensland spirit but it was really good. Looking forward to tomorrow. It’s a tough test. You need to hit every shot perfect. A bit of luck of the Irish out there too wouldn’t hurt.”

Scott was out late on day one but has the advantage of a 7.08 tee time on day two to make his move. A bogey at the last was disappointing after fighting his way back from 2 over through 11 holes, but it was nonetheless a solid start.

“I mean, kind of. It could have gotten away, said Scott. “I don’t know; it felt like we teed off in the rain and played the whole lot in the rain. It was tricky at times. But my golf was okay. Shame about the last.”

Scott bounced back from two consecutive bogeys on 10 and 11 to keep his hopes of a good week alive.

“It is handy having birdies. I’d like to have some more stretches like that. It’s always an equation at the majors of how much do you press, how much you’re going to go and try and hit it close. It’s really hard here at a links when the wind is blowing and you’ve got to hang it way up the other side of the course and try and have it come back. Sometimes you can’t get it close. So, how aggressively you play is always the thing, and when you go for it and pull off a few, birdies go a long way.

“I’m not out of it, but I’m going to have to have a good morning tomorrow. Hopefully, the weather cooperates.”

Jason Day and Marc Leishman are at 2 over 73, Day also improving after an outward nine of 39 in his early morning round.

Leishman was 3 over through 12 holes but steadied the ship over the closing stretch.

Lucas Herbert and Min Woo Lee recorded rounds of 74, Ryan Fox and Elvis Smylie 75, New Zealand Open winner, Ryan Peake, who played with Phil Mickelson, had 77, and Curtis Luck 80.

Weather dependant, the cut appears as if it will fall around 3 over par tomorrow evening.

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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 17^th 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 25^th 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 9^th Open Championship, his best effort when 16^th at this very venue in 2019, but, that aside, his next best was when 25^th 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 21^st. 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 17^th 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 7^th 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 5^th Open Championship with a best of 31^st 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 5^th Open Championship, his best when 15^th 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.

Field