It has been only a matter of days since the DP World Tour season came to a close in Dubai, but the new campaign is already upon with the BMW Australian PGA Championship kicking off the 'Opening Swing'.
Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane hosts this event for the fourth time in a row and there are several home hopes looking to claim the spoils Down Under, including 2022 Open winner Cameron Smith and defending champion Min Woo Lee.
Jason Day, Marc Leishman, Cam Davis and Lucas Herbert are another four Aussies eyeing success, while Englishman Jordan Smith and Frenchman Victor Perez are also expected to put in strong showings.
- MIN WOO LEE TO WIN
- ELVIS SMYLIE TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
- JASON SCRIVENER TOP-10 FINISH
Lee To Repeat 2023 Success
Min Woo Lee came close to winning this title in his first two appearances, recording back-to-back fourth-placed finishes before then managing to crack it with a three-shot victory last year.
The 26-year-old's game is suited to this course, with the wide fairways and lack of rough making this a paradise for the big hitters off the tee, a category the Australian falls into.
World number 48 Lee competed in both play-off events to finish the last DP World Tour season, registering T23 and T24 results, and he looks in solid shape to enjoy a strong title defence.
MIN WOO LEE TO WIN
Matter Of Time Before Elvis Breaks Through
Big things are expected from 22-year-old Australian Elvis Smylie and he has the potential to make a positive start to the campaign by landing his first DP World Tour title.
The world number 736 has impressed on the PGA Tour of Australasia and after finishing third at the CKB WA PGA Championship, he made his breakthrough at that level with victory in the Bowra & O'Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open in October.
Smylie has since posted results of tied-eighth, fifth and T24 and he can take that form into an event he has performed admirably in, with back-to-back T12 finishes coming when two editions of the tournament were held in 2022.
ELVIS SMYLIE TO WIN AND EACH-WAY
Scrivener Set For Solid Showing
Jason Scrivener's wait for a maiden DP World Tour title could be extended past this week's event, but that doesn't mean he can't put in a good showing and a top-10 finish looks to be well within his reach.
The 35-year-old was tied-second here in November 2022, losing out to Smith by three shots, while he heads into the 2024 edition on the back of some promising form.
Scrivener was T6 at the Bowra & O'Dea Nexus Advisernet WA Open, before recording a T14 finish at the Genesis Championship on the DP World Tour.
The Australian has upped his game after a torrid middle part of the year that saw him miss eight cuts in a row, with a top-five result at the European Masters in September another notable performance.
JASON SCRIVENER TOP-10 FINISH
