With 11 of Australia’s top Professionals
taking their place in the field at Royal Troon this week we look at the form of
each as they try to capture the 145^th Open Championship.

Jason
Day
Played: Five
Best
finish: T4 (St Andrews, 2015)

The World Number 1 will be a favourite with
bookies and fans alike this week after his heartbreaking close call in 2015
when a 72^nd hole birdie stopped one revolution short of joining a
playoff for the title.

However, it was that disappointment at St
Andrews which spurred him to what has been a dominant 12 month run at the top
of the game and he will be looking to stamp that authority again this week.

Historically, Day has struggled on Links
layouts with his best finish prior to last year’s T4, surprisingly, a T30 back
in 2011.

However, Day is not just an improved player
this year, he’s a different player.

Seven wins in his last 17 starts, on a
range of different courses and with his game often not at its best, is an
extraordinary pace to set and Day shows no signs of letting up this week.

Adam
Scott:
Played: 16
Best
finish: 2 (Royal Lytham, 2012)

After a disappointing 2015 season Adam
Scott came out firing in 2016 and with two wins already, including a WGC title,
he comes to Troon with plenty to like about his game.

Scott has been in the top-5 three of the
last four Opens and after the heartbreak of letting the Claret Jug slip at
Lytham four years ago has seemed more intense at this Major than any other.

While T18 at Oakmont didn’t look a great
result on paper, Scott’s play in Pennsylvania was better than his final
position indicated.

He followed that with a T10 at the WGC
Bridgestone tournament and if his ball striking is as good this week as it was
each of those tournaments he will surely have a chance come Sunday.

Marc
Leishman
Played: Five
Best
finish: T2 (St Andrews, 2015)

Most fans will recall Leishman’s stunning
weekend play last year which earned him a playoff spot with Louis Oosthuizen
and eventual champion Zach Johnson.

Leishman’s weekend scores of 64-66 matched
the low 36 hole record for The Open and very nearly saw him lift the Claret
Jug.

But what many won’t remember is that
Leishman also finished T5 the year before at Hoylake, his performance, like all
others that week, overshadowed by the brilliance of Rory McIlroy.

While Leishman has won just once on the PGA
TOUR and once on the European Tour his results in the biggest events are among
his best and after a much needed week off he will likely be a force again this
week.

He played well for three rounds at Oakmont
last month and posted his best US Open finish there, a fact that will no doubt
give him a confidence boost as he heads to the third major of the year.

Scott
Hend
Played: Two
Best
finish: MC (2005 and 2015)

Hend might rightly be described as a late
bloomer in golf, the ultra talented Queenslander picking up eight of his nine
Asian Tour wins since his 38^th birthday in 2012.

Now 42, he still hits it as long as many of
his younger competitors and with his aggressive style of play is capable of
shooting super low scores.

Hend was far from pleased after missing the
cut last year at St Andrews when he was one of a number of players forced to
tee off in gale force winds on Saturday morning and making a double bogey to
miss the final two rounds by two shots.

That unfortunate scenario will undoubtedly
be a motivator this week as Hend takes a more mature game and attitude to his
third Open Championship.

At his best, Hend is capable of mixing it
at the top levels of the game and this week presents a good opportunity to do that,
an opportunity he will be keen to make the most of.

Greg
Chalmers
Played: Three
Best
finish: T45 (Royal Lytham, 2012)

Chalmers is the ultimate grinder, proved by
the fact his first PGA TOUR victory two weeks ago come in his 386^th
start.

While he doesn’t play a flashy game,
Chalmers is a golfer you never count out, his seven hole playoff win over Adam
Scott in 2014 testament to his tenacity. Chalmers didn’t find the fairway once
in those seven holes but he never considered himself out of it.

Thanks to his win at the Barracuda
tournament in Nevada and all that comes with it, Chalmers now finds himself in
a position to play freewheeling golf.

A two year exemption to the PGA TOUR means
he can plan his schedule well in advance and tee up without the pressure of
playing for his livelihood every week.

That shift in focus will work in his favour
this week and it would be surprising if he didn’t improve on his previous best
performance.

Marcus
Fraser
Played: Five
Best
finish: T20 (St Andrews, 2015)

Fraser readily admits that many of the
modern golf courses used for tournament play don’t suit his game but he is more
than comfortable on the links layouts of the UK.

While most of the game’s top players hit
the ball high and long, Fraser’s style of play is a throwback to different
times and the demands of the game found in The Open suit both his eye and his
playing style.

After a six year victory drought, Fraser
climbed back into the winner’s circle earlier this year and that experience in
Malaysia will hold him in good stead this week.

Being in or around the lead in a golf
tournament is a situation that can’t be replicated in practice and having
withstood the test in February it will be relatively fresh in his mind.

Having also been confirmed as the second
member of Australia’s Olympic golf team earlier this week the 38-year-old will
be in an upbeat mood and an improvement on last year’s T20 is not out of the
question.

Matt
Jones
Played: Two
Best
finish: T30 (St Andrews, 2015.

Since winning the Australians Open in
dramatic fashion last year Jones has, surprisingly, been less than his best for
much of 2016.

However, his play at the WGC Bridgestone
Invitational two weeks ago showed signs of life and Jones might well be on the
comeback trail.

Having missed 10 cuts in his previous 14
starts Jones posted rounds of 74-70-69-69 at Firestone, his weekend scoring
particularly impressive on a difficult golf course.

The T16 result was his best since the
Pebble Beach event in February and, coupled with T20 and T26 finishes at The
Memorial and FedEx St Jude, perhaps signal a turnaround in form.

Playing just his third Open Championship
Jones is yet to be a genuine contender but his experience at last year’s PGA
Championship, where he held the 36 hole lead, will hold him in good stead this
week.

Nick
Cullen
Played: One
Best
finish: MC (Royal Lytham, 2012)

Cullen’s gutsy win at the 2014 Australian
Masters proved the left hander has what it takes to compete internationally but
his inability to find a Tour to play full time has made life somewhat
difficult.

While most in this week’s field get the
opportunity to tee up almost every week, Cullen has had to scramble for starts
where he can get them, the disjointed nature of his playing schedule making it
difficult to gain any momentum.

That will put him at a disadvantage this
week but on the flip side he will have plenty of motivation to produce his best
golf.

While a win might be unlikely, a good
showing at Royal Troon would bring valuable recognition, and earnings, for the
remainder of the year.

Rod
Pampling
Played: Eight
Best
finish: T27 (Royal Troon, 2004; Carnoustie, 2007)

There are good memories for Pampling at
Royal Troon where he posted his equal best Open finish, his T27 in 2004 built
predominantly around a brilliant second round 68.

Now 46 and not in the midst of his best
year on the PGA TOUR, Pampling still has all the tools required to play at the
top level but will likely need a spark this week to do it.

Only twice has Pampling broken 70 in this
tournament but, as a two time PGA TOUR winner with nothing to prove in the
game, he will take little pressure into this week.

Nathan
Holman
Played: Debut
Best
finish: Debut

It hasn’t been plain sailing for the
25-year-old in his rookie European Tour season playing his first major this
week will be another step for him on what is a steep learning curve.

The 2015 Australian PGA champion clearly
has the talent to play at the top level but few, Holman included, step
comfortably into that role in their first year on Tour.

Holman has shown throughout his short
career that he has been up to the challenge at every level and while contending
this week is unlikely, the lessons learned at Troon will be of great value into
the future.

Along with Cameron Smith, Holman is one of
the most promising young players to emerge from these shores in recent years
and this will be just the first of many Open appearances.

Steven
Bowditch
Played: Two
Best
finish: T30 (St Andrews, 2015)

It would be easy to dismiss Bowditch’s
chances this week based on his 2016 form, the Queenslander missing 10 of 21
cuts and posting several rounds in the 80’s.

But as unlikely as it seems Bowditch, of
all players, is capable of turning things around quickly and despite his
struggles this year has handled his situation with both grace and good humour.

At the top levels of the game, attitude is
at least as important as aptitude and while Bowditch himself would likely play
down his chances, strange things can, and do, happen in golf.

It’s hard to imagine a more difficult year
for a Professional than that which Bowditch has endured but you don’t fluke two
victories on the world’ toughest circuit.

There is still a world class golfer lurking
inside Steven Bowditch and who’s to say it won’t emerge this week at Royal
Troon?