Golf Events / Editor / 25 April 2007 /

Legendary film maker David Puttnam famously once said in 1982 ' Look out, the British are coming' after receiving an Oscar for 'Chariots of Fire.' Fast forward 25 years and change one word and the phrase could easily be applied to the present state of Australian golf.

Australians have long been the leaders in other sports, most notably cricket and swimming, but they have rarely been able to call upon such a strength in depth in the world of golf.

Greg Norman set a trail-blazing pace for many years on his way to assuming the world number one's position and adding two Majors titles to his impressive CV.

Ian Baker-Finch and Steve Elkington picked up the baton in the 1990s and both also joined the exclusive club of players lucky enough to win Grand Slam events, when they claimed The 1991 Open Championship and 1995 US PGA Championship respectively.

But the current crop of golfers look to be of a different, tougher breed and their influence has been felt over a far greater scale. Their strength in depth gets bigger every year and, put simply, Australian golf has never been in a ruder state of health.

After the first Major of the year at Augusta, Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy both reside in the top ten of the world rankings while there are five Aussies presently in the world's top 20, the same number as Europe and only one behind America.

Australians were responsible for winning no fewer than eight tournaments on the PGA Tour last year - with six different winners - and, having won two events already in 2007, it would be no surprise to see them close to matching the figure this year.

Leading the way are Scott and Ogilvy after career-best seasons in 2006, with Nick O'Hern, Stuart Appleby, Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley chasing them hard.

Much has been expected of Scott for a long time since he first made a name for himself on the European Tour shortly after turning professional in 2000, and the Adelaide golfer has really started to deliver in the last 18 months.

Scott may only have won one tournament last year - The Tour Championship at the end of the 2006 season - but ten top-ten finishes in just 19 events helped him finish third on the PGA Tour Money List and rise to fourth in the world rankings.

The 26-year-old has continued his rise with victory at the Shell Houston Open, where he led an Aussie one-two with Appleby filling the runners-up spot, moving him into the world's top three. He now appears ready to challenge for the one thing missing in his list of tournament victories so far - a win in a Grand Slam.

Scott, who can be backed at 80 to finish top of the 2007 PGA Money List, is yet to produce his best in a Major, but top ten finishes at last year's Open Championship and US PGA Championship suggest he's not far away and, importantly, he has time on his side.

Ogilvy shot on to the world stage with a bang in 2006 after winning the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship and then becoming the first Australian since Elkington to win a Major, when he edged out Colin Montgomerie and Phil Mickelson at the US Open.

His triumph at Winged Foot was a triumph for persistence and bloody-mindedness, as he got up and down at the last two holes before waiting for his rivals to implode.

Far from being a one-season wonder though, Ogilvy, who is trading at 17 to come top of the PGA Money List without Tiger Woods in the field, has gone from strength to strength.

He only narrowly failed to defend his Accenture title in February, being beaten by Henrik Stenson in the final, and it would be a shock if he didn't challenge at the three remaining Grand Slam events in 2007, especially The Open Championship where links golf seems to suit him.

But if he misses out in the Majors this year, don't be surprised to see compatriots of O'Hern, Appleby, Allenby and Baddeley snapping at the heels of the leaders.

O'Hern may be one of the shorter hitters on tour but is deadly accurate and his victory over Woods at this year's Accenture Championship - the second time he has beaten the world number one in the event - has given him the confidence to compete with the world's best.

Appleby has won eight PGA Tour titles - including three in a row at the Mercedes Benz Championship and two last year - during his career and continues to be a major force in the game.

He could also so easily be celebrating his first Major success, if poor putting hadn't let down on the final day at this month's US Masters where he led after three rounds.

There are few more reliable players to follow at present than Allenby, as his record of six top-ten finishes already in 2007 shows - the only baffling thing is how he has not won on the PGA Tour since 2001.

Baddeley has and, after two victories inside the last 12 months, is looking to make the next step up into the world's top 20.

In terms of money won, Baddeley heads the Aussie contingent in 2007 standing seventh in the FedEx Cup table, and look out for him at tournaments where he is contention going into the final round.

The secret of Australia's success doesn't just end there though, and to only mention these golfers would be doing a disservice to the likes of Rod Pampling, John Senden, 'the Greens' Richard and Nathan, Andrew Buckle, Peter Lonard and Stephen Leaney.

Pampling, ranked 46 in the world, and Senden both won on the PGA Tour last year - at the 139th time of trying - while the Greens have both tasted success on the European Tour in recent years and are handily placed in the Order of Merit this year.

Buckle is improving rapidly and finished joint fourth behind Tiger Woods at the Buick Invitational in January. Lonard won the 2005 MCI Heritage crown and is a regular contender in America, while Leaney has two top-ten finishes this season already.

Look out. The Australians are definitely coming and are here to stay.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>