Australian Open Each-Way Tips: Ryan can out-Fox the sandbelt test

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Ryan Fox is chasing a third win of 2022.

The DP World Tour remains down under for this week's Australian Open. Super-hot Cam Smith is the short-priced favourite but Matt Cooper looks elsewhere in his two selections with the Betfair Sportsbook paying seven places...

  • In-form Ryan Fox has a fine sandbelt record.

  • Stick with Korea's revitalised Jeunghun Wang

  • Victoria Golf Club is set to offer up a golfing treat.

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Main Bet: Ryan Fox 2pts each-way @ 18/1

We're in for a real treat this week on the DP World Tour in the form of a rare visit for main tour golf to the Melbourne sandbelt.

The venue is not Royal Melbourne, Metropolitan, Kingston Heath, Commonwealth, Huntingdale or Yarra Yarra.

But no matter, Victoria Golf Club is right up there - a wonderful venue that made excellent use of the raw materials on offer (fast-running sandy turf, rambling terrain) and has been tinkered with by two of the best in the business, Dr Alister MacKenzie and, more recently, Michael Clayton.

The classic sandbelt factors are in-play: lightning fast greens, shrewd bunkering, speedy fairways, traditional shaping and a rugged backdrop of wasteland, trees and long grass.

And in the 21st century there have been three tour events at the layout.

In 2002 Stephen Allan won this event when it was reduced to 54 holes, overcoming Sky Sports commentator Rich Beem, Charles Howell III and Craig Parry in the final round.

Then in 2010 and 2011 Stuart Appleby and Ian Poulter lifted the JBWere Australian Masters. The former made a play-off in the Open and the latter finished second in the same championship.

It makes sense - sandbelt golf might have much quicker greens than linksland but in other regards it is a similar kind of test: those bouncy fairways, lots of sand, a call for creative short game skills.

Great news for Cameron Smith, one of the form players of 2022, the reigning Open champion and also a winner last week in the Australian PGA Championship.

His price, however, reflects that he is a neat fit.

Good news, too, for Min Woo Lee, one of last week's picks when returning a place finish.

Lee has won both the Scottish Open and Vic Open on links courses, plus he's not finished outside the top 12 in his last five starts (three of them top four), and, as noted last week, his form on home soil since turning pro is sensational. It now reads: seven starts, six top five finishes and one win (in the exception, a missed cut, he was tied sixth after 18 holes).

But at the wrong side of 11.010/1 it's difficult to nominate him in an each way column.

Lucas Herbert is tempting. He's recorded two top 10s on the links at The Renaissance Club, another in the Dunhill Links and was 15th at the Open this summer.

The flipside is that, one round at Metropolitan aside, he's not played well on the sandbelt and withdrew last week.

So attention turns to the Kiwi Ryan Fox.

He's landed linksland top fives at Portstewart, Ballyliffin, Dundonald Links and Gullane. He was also the winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this autumn.

In all he's landed eight top four finishes, two of them wins, in his last 22 starts.

Back in 2013 he spent all week in the top 10 at Royal Melbourne before finishing fifth. The year before he was 14th at Kingston Heath and two years later he was fifth at Huntingdale.

That's a neat little log book on the sandbelt and he's undoubtedly a better, and more confident, golfer now.

Next Best: Jeunghun Wang 1pt each-way @ 50/1

I'm keeping my chips on the table with Jeunghun Wang.

The main pick last week, he got off to a good start sitting fourth after an opening lap of 66.

He also closed with a 68 but middle laps of 76-73 cost him.

Nonetheless, it was yet another performance of promise after he re-emergence following the completion of his national service at home in Korea.

In fact, in all five of his appearances in this second stage of his career he has sat in the top 10 at the end of a round.

He's got a fine wind game, as proved when winning the Qatar Masters at Doha.

And he also finished fifth at the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

He also has an intriguing first and second on the Sandbelt Trails Course at Mission Hills in China.

Now, these super resorts might attempt to recreate certain course conditions but they rarely achieve it and photographs suggest that, for all the talk of being inspired by the likes of this week's test, the reality is pastiche rather than recreation.

You never know though - Wang might make a connection of sorts and a good result is within his realm in any case.

* Having difficulty working out the place returns? Fret no more - you can easily work out your returns with our new each way calculator.

Recommended bets

Ryan Fox 2pts each-way @ 19.018/1

Jeunghun Wang 1pt each-way @ 51.050/1

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Matt Cooper

Matt Cooper is an experienced and well-travelled golf journalist.

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