ISPS Handa Australian Open 2023: Course and current form stats

• Little-known Ben 60/161.00 good value for e/w spot

• Scott 10/111.00 looks a strong Sydney contender

• In-form Leishman 14/115.00 can claim national open

Tournament and Course Notes

• For the second year in a row, Australia's national open will be co-sanctioned by both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia;

• Last year's tournament was held in Melbourne, while this year's action takes place in Sydney. And, once again, the tournament will be contested over two courses - The Australian and The Lakes;

• As with 2022, the men's event will share the spotlight with the women's Australian Open. On days one and two, the golfers will play 18 holes at each course, before The Australian takes centre stage for rounds three and four;

• The Australian has hosted the national Open 21 times, including 2014-15-17-19. The Lakes, meanwhile, has held this event on seven occasions, the last four being 2010-11-12-18;

• The Australian, founded in 1882, is the oldest golf club in Australia and has twice been renovated by the hands of Jack Nicklaus, most recently 10 years ago when he carried out a major redevelopment of the layout. As for The Lakes, the club was opened in 1928 and the current course was shaped by former pro Mike Clayton. The two clubs are approximately one and a half miles apart;

• Water comes into play on seven holes at The Australian, which also features plenty of sand and will demand accuracy from the tee, along with good course management;

• The Lakes, which is located within the Botany Water Reserve, has a definite links appearance. It is rugged, has plenty of unofficial sand and scrub, as well as some testing doglegs.

Latest betting for this week's ISPS Handa Australian Open

Good Current Form

Last week's winner at Royal Queensland, Min Woo Lee 4/15.00, attempts to make it a double celebration in New South Wales this coming week.

The world No 38 has won twice in his last four outings, although he missed the cut when competing in this event at The Australian in 2019.

The experienced Adam Scott 10/111.00, who was sixth in last week's Australian PGA Championship, has posted four top-10s from his most recent seven starts.

These include a brace of T10s on the PGA Tour, as well as the prestigious Wentworth tournament during September.

The 43-year-old was a joint-runner-up when The Australian hosted the national open in 2015.

Four others to consider are Cameron Davis 8/19.00, Lucas Herbert 18/119.00, Marc Leishman 14/115.00 and the lesser-known Ben Campbell 60/161.00.

Davis, Herbert and Leishman were all top-10 finishers in Brisbane last week.

Leishman has spent most of the year on the LIV Tour, and retained his playing rights for 2024 thanks largely to two podium finishes during the second half of the season.

Campbell, meanwhile, has been a regular on the Asian Tour during 2023 and earlier this month won the Hong Kong Open - when he finished one stroke clear of Cameron Smith.

Betfair Sportsbook

Good Course Form

No player, during the last decade, has a course history at The Australian as good as Matt Jones 33/134.00.

The 43-year-old from Sydney has twice won the national open at this venue, and has also finished second here.

However Jones, who is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, has not enjoyed the best of seasons on the Saudi-backed LIV Tour.

Cameron Smith 11/26.50 performed woefully at last week's Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane, but goes again in Sydney.

The 'top seed' finished fourth when teeing-up at The Australian six years ago.

He also posted a top-10 finish when The Lakes staged the Australian Open in 2018.

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

Check out Andy's Investec South African Open preview