ISPS Handa Australian Open 2024: Form stats for this week's tournament in Melbourne

• Fast-running fairways and greens on both courses

• Micheluzzi 40/141.00 can contend in Melbourne

• Challenge Tour trio are strong e/w candidates

Tournament and Course Notes

• Week two of the new DP World Tour season takes the players to Melbourne and the 107th staging of Australia's national open. Those who played in last week's Australian PGA Championship will have travelled more than 1,000 miles south-west, from Brisbane, to tee-up in the city's famous sand-belt region.

• This is the third straight year that Australia's most prestigious golf event will be part of the DP World Tour schedule. This week's tournament is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and its European counterpart based at Wentworth in Surrey. As with the 2022 instalment, when Melbourne last hosted this event, the 72-hole tournament will be contested over two highly-rated venues (Kingston Heath and Victoria).

• Back then, the golfers played one round at each course over the first 36 holes, before Victoria took centre stage for the final two rounds. However, for this year's edition, the venues will swap roles, with Kingston Heath playing host on Saturday and Sunday. And, as in 2022 and 2023, the men's national open will share the spotlight with the women's equivalent. The men's tournament will feature a field of 156, with 84 taking part in the women's Australian Open.

• Situated in the city's south-east suburbs, these two venues are separated by a little over three miles. In readiness for the 2022 Australian Open, both venues underwent significant renovations. Victoria has changed considerably during the last 15 years and, in 2018, its greens were re-laid with a new strain of Bent grass.

• Kingston Heath, which is approximately 350 yards longer than Victoria, will host the Presidents Cup match in 2028. It also staged the World Cup of Golf in 2016. In 2022, Victoria's total par of 70 was two strokes less than Kingston Heath.

• As is typical of courses laid out on Melbourne's famous sand-belt, the fairways are firm and fast, while both venues have firm, undulating and lightning-quick putting surfaces. A sharp scrambling game will be required at these fast-running courses. Both layouts are extremely well-bunkered, while the only water hazard is on Victoria's back nine.

Good Current Form

As with last week's PGA Championship in Brisbane, many of Australia's top golfers will be teeing-up again in Melbourne.

Leading the challenge will be Cameron Smith 16/117.00 who, since returning to his homeland earlier this month, has posted a hat-trick of podium finishes.

It would be no great surprise if The Open champion from 2022 claimed his maiden Australian Open title.

Also teeing-up for the second week in a row is Marc Leishman 22/123.00, Min Woo Lee 22/123.00 and Cameron Davis 25/126.00.

Leishman and Davis posted top-six finishes in Queensland on Sunday, while Lee stood on the podium when this week's courses last co-hosted the Australian Open two years' ago.

One other Aussie to make a note of is David Micheluzzi 40/141.00. The 28-year-old from Melbourne tied-10th here in 2022, while also finishing fifth in the PGA Championship at the weekend.

A number of last season's Challenge Tour graduates were rewarded on Sunday for making the long trip south to Queensland.

In the opening tournament of the new DP World Tour season in Brisbane, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 35/136.00, John Parry 55/156.00 and Angel Ayora 50/151.00 all registered top-10 finishes.

While 38-year-old Englishman Parry has played at this level for a number of years, Neergaard-Petersen and Ayora have extremely bright futures ahead of them.

In what is clearly a mediocre field, all three in-form pros can certainly make hay again this coming week.

Finally, Chile's Joaquin Niemann 12/113.00 is hoping to become the first player in 20 years to successfully defend the Australian Open title.

On this year's LIV Tour, Niemann won twice, added four other podium finishes, and was runner-up in the overall season's standings.

He also tied-seventh at the recent DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Betfair Sportsbook

World Ranking Points

Most Points (Top 12) Since June 1st
Pts
62.02: Cameron Davis
37.15: Victor Perez
35.79: Jordan Smith
34.53: Min Woo Lee
30.61: John Parry
29.00: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
25.00: Karl Vilips
24.33: Nicolas Colsaerts
23.68: David Micheluzzi
21.69: Adrien Saddier
20.34: Cristobal Del Solar
20.04: Yannik Paul
Only those entered this week are included in table

MC* - Missed Additional 54-Hole Cut

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

The Punter's Australian Open Preview