Backing up a great round can be difficult but what about a great year?

After career performances in 2017 both Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman get the chance to find out in 2018 and the journey begins this week at the winners only Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

Smith makes his debut at the Plantation course at Kapalua while Leishman is in the field for the second time after also teeing up in 2013 courtesy of his maiden PGA TOUR title in 2012.

The layout is unlike anything the players face the rest of the year with enormous elevation changes and several severely sloping fairways offering little in the way of flat lies or straightforward shots.

Scale is the word often used to describe the Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw creation but it isn’t just long hitters who have fared well here with both Zach Johnson and Steve Stricker winners in recent years.

That’s good news for Smith and Leishman who, while far from short off the tee, are not in the upper echelons of driving distance on the PGA TOUR.

Their strengths lie elsewhere and conditions at Kapalua could well play into the hands of both Australians this week though for somewhat different reasons.

The fairways and greens are generous at the Plantation course to account for the sometimes strong winds that can blow across the island and the Australians will be hoping for that breeze to blow.

Leishman is a noted wind player thanks to his experience growing up on the exposed fairways of Warrnambool GC in Victoria and if it gets windy he will be in his element.

Smith, meanwhile, boasts one of the best short games on Tour (his up and down at the 18th at RACV Royal Pines Resort to win the Australian PGA Championship in December the proof in the pudding) so the more difficult the greens are to hit the more conditions play into his hands.

A decade apart in age, both Smith and Leishman are at interesting points in their careers, Leishman beginning to deliver on the promise he has shown since turning Professional in 2005.

The Rookie of the Year on the PGA TOUR in 2009 (and still the only Australian ever to capture that award), the 34-year-old matured rapidly in 2017 and by year’s end was clearly one of the best dozen players in the world.

His Official World Golf Ranking reflected that fact as he ended the year in 12th position, the climb from 56th at the end of 2016 a clear indicator of the improvements in his game.

At 24 Smith is 10 years younger than Leishman but he, too, has long been considered one of Australia’s most promising prospects.

Since winning the Australian Amateur in 2013 Smith has continued to impress at every level, firstly with a run of seven top-10’s from nine starts on the 2014 Asian Tour before earning status on the PGA TOUR the following season.

He was forced back to the season ending Web.com Finals Series that year but again impressed to earn his credential for the main show then broke through for a maiden win at the Zurich Classic in May.

His win at the Australian PGA Championship at RACV Royal Pines Resort in December was as emotional as it was dramatic but, most importantly, will have further boosted his confidence heading to the upcoming season.

Neither Leishman nor Smith will start as favourites this week in a field that boasts eight of the world’s top-10 players but both are clearly capable of winning.

However, victory or not, the week will be an important indicator for the pair as they prepare to try to back up their best Professional years to date.