After back to back near misses at the last two Grand Slam events Jason Day returns to the site of his major debut for this week’s PGA Championship not only as one of Australia’s best chances but one of the tournament favourites.

Day’s first major appearance came at
Whistling Straits at the 2010 PGA Championship and he produced what has become
a trademark performance in the biggest tournaments, a T10 which has set the
tone for his career since.

After heartbreak at the US Open at Chambers
Bay, where an attack of vertigo saw him collapse in the second round, and the
agony of a putt left short at St Andrews’ final hole which cost him a place in
the play-off, Day is ready to capitalise on what has been a brilliant year.

He proved his resilience with a win at the
Canadian Open the week after St Andrews, his second PGA TOUR title of the year,
and but for an inexplicably poor run at Firestone’s par-5 16^th hole
last week he would have been a contender for a second WGC title.

Day
is one of nine Australians in this week’s field, joined at Whistling Straits by
Adam Scott, Marc Leishman, John Senden, Geoff Ogilvy, Matt Jones, Steven
Bowditch and Cameron Smith. Matt Jones’ older brother Brett is also in the
field after qualifying as a Club Professional.
The elder Jones will be somewhat out of his comfort zone at this level and a
made cut would be considered a successful week under the circumstances.
While Day represents Australia’s best chance this week
all eight Australians can make a case for contending, Leishman and Scott in
particular coming off good Open Championship performances.

Leishman’s final two rounds at St Andrews
are among the best 36 hole performances in major championship history and
despite not playing his best at Firestone it would be a surprise were he not to
be in the mix come Sunday.

A little like Day, Leishman seems to save
his best performances for the most important tournaments and also made his PGA
Championship debut at this venue in 2010.

Rounds of 71-73-72-73 saw him finish T48
that week but the Victorian is a vastly improved player in the five years since
and has proved his ability to handle pressure well.

He has spoken more than once about the
change in attitude brought on by the well documented health scare of wife
Audrey which saw him miss the Masters and that calm will be crucial on what can
be a brutally difficult golf course this week.

For Adam Scott this week marks the final
time he will be able to use the anchored putting stroke in a major and while
that likely won’t be at the forefront of his thinking it’s hard to imagine it
won’t be on his mind in some way.

Unquestionably one of the best ball
strikers in the game there is little to worry about in that department and with
Steve Williams again on the bag all departments are in order for yet another
strong major performance.

Since his near miss at the 2012 Open at Lytham
Scott has been in the top-5 in five of 12 majors and top-10 in another two.

A stirring final round charge at Chambers
Bay and a brilliant start to his final round at St Andrews are positive proof he
has what it takes to contend at the biggest events and, if he can get off to a
good start, will likely be a factor late Sunday.

Fellow Queenslander Cameron Smith plays his
second major this week after of a staggeringly good performance at his first,
the US Open in June.

Little known outside Australia at the time
Smith surprised most when he finished fourth at Chambers Bay, not the least
because of his amazing three-wood second to the last which led to an eagle.

After the predictable post tournament
attention after such a performance Smith has slipped back under the radar but
those who follow the game closely will like his chances this week.

At every level of the game the 21-year-old
has proved himself up to the task and while he is yet to win as a Professional
has all the tools required to play at the top level.

When Smith won the Australian Amateur in
2013 he came from five down against long hitting Geoff Drakeford at his
opponent’s home course of Commonwealth to eventually win 3&2.

That tenacity has also been obvious in his
still fledgling Professional career, Smith finishing 2014 on the Asian Tour
with six consecutive top-10 results.

The only thing working against Smith this
week is a lack of tournament golf since the US Open but he will no doubt be
lifted by the occasion and if he produces his best could be a factor.

Also hailing from Queensland and also
flying under the radar this week will be John Senden whose 2015 has been less
than his best.

He comes to Wisconsin off a missed cut at
the Quicken Loans tournament, his seventh of the season, but has plenty of
incentive to play well with a Presidents Cup spot beckoning.

Senden, who has made no secret of his desire
to play on the International Team, needs a good week at Whistling Straits to
assure himself a spot and that may be just what’s required to turn his form
around.

Presently 11^th in the standings
he can play his way into automatic selection at Whistling Straits and that will
no doubt be a big motivation.

Similarly Steven Bowditch has a goal this
week and that is to climb into the top-50 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Now a two time PGA TOUR winner Bowditch is
playing some of the best and most consistent golf of his life and spoke this
week of his aim is to tee up with the best in the world week in and week out.

Whistling Straits will be Bowditch’s fifth
major and he comes into the week off some good play at Firestone last week, a
Saturday 7-under-par 63 the highlight.

His length will be an asset at a course
which favoured the bombers last time around and if his putter holds up a good
finish is likely.

Sydney’s Matt Jones and Victorian Geoff
Ogilvy round out the Australian challenge with both capable of contending this
week.

Jones has steadily improved each and every
year on the PGA TOUR and after his first victory last year has been at the
pointy end of several tournaments.

Not as consistently good in 2015 as he was
last year the Sydney-sider is still in the top half of the FedEx Cup standings
and has two third place finishes this season.

A missed cut last start at the Canadian
Open wasn’t ideal preparation but having his brother tee up this week also will
be a motivator which could lift his game.

Jones missed the cut at Whistling Straits
in 2010 but is a different player five years on and if he can produce his best
form will have a chance on Sunday.

For Ogilvy 2015 has been an unusual year
after he broke a slump at the end of 2014 with an unexpected PGA TOUR win but
hasn’t quite gone on with the job.

Nine years on from his US Open victory it
is the majors which seem to bring out the best in his game and at both Chambers
Bay and St Andrews this year he got off to strong starts before giving back
shots cheaply with a run of poor holes.

A balky putter in recent years has been
problematic but Ogilvy still putts well in streaks and if he has one of those
runs this week he can easily handle everything else that comes with being at
the top of a major leader board.

A good first two rounds will be key for the
Victorian and if he can make it to the weekend in decent shape could well go on
with the job.