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Find Me a 100 Winner - Gavin Coles

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Back on home soil this Australian can belie lowly world ranking, says Paul Krishnamurty...

Rather like the British and US Open Championships, the various different courses used for the Australian version tend to share similar characteristics and demands. A tough set-up usually places a great emphasis on accuracy from tee to green, and requires resilience, patience and a silky touch around the greens. Its no surprise then that the same names fill the top-10 every year, which suggests that Gavin Coles could be a value punt this week at odds of around 110.

These odds look very reasonable considering Coles' impressive Australian Open record. He always seems to thrive in these conditions, and has finished third, eighth and fifth on his last three cracks at his national Open. That level of form is a world away from his recent efforts on the PGA Tour, where Coles hasn't made a top-10 since the beginning of July. However he wouldn't be the first Australian to leave his US form for dead once back in familiar surroundings. Consider Peter Lonard for instance. Lonard has barely been seen on a PGA Tour leaderboard in the past year, yet as soon as the Aussie triple-crown events come around he looks every inch a world-class player.

There's no point in overstating the case - Coles is essentially a journeyman professional who will never begin to match Lonard's achievements. The 39-year-old is no mug though, and has enjoyed some career highlights. Plenty of higher-ranked players than Coles can't boast three professional tournament victories, all at the competitive Nationwide Tour level including two co-sanctioned events in Australasia.

He played well enough at Coolum over the weekend as well, closing with a 68 to finish in mid-division on his first start for over a month and on a course less suited to his game than The Australian.