Awesome Australians set to deliver World Cup glory on home turf

Tournament starts 11.30pm Wednesday
Live on Sky Sports Golf from 1am Wednesday night

There are 28 teams going to post for the World Cup of Golf, but several of them are massively out of their depth, with Greece, for example, surely unbackable even if a billion to one was on offer.

Denmark won the last World Cup two years ago, thanks largely to a second-round 60 in fourballs combat, but the format has switched this time. Fourballs will be played on day one and day three, so pinging the lids is essential before the foursomes grind of Friday and Sunday.

Palmer's top tip
Australia 9-2

The World Cup seems to have found a permanent home in Melbourne – this will be the third consecutive edition in the famous Sandbelt area – and the home team can make it two victories from three.

Australia were successful in 2013, when Jason Day and Adam Scott cruised to a ten-shot triumph at Royal Melbourne, before Scott and Marc Leishman finished ninth at Kingston Heath in the only subsequent World Cup. Leishman has selected his good friend Cameron Smith as partner for The Metropolitan and they look by far the most likely champions.

While the World Cup has only just come on to the radar of most teams, the Australian duo have been planning for the event for many weeks, practising with the favoured ball of their partner and preparing as thoroughly as possible. They have overwhelming title credentials.

Leishman typically uses a Callaway Chrome Soft X ball, while Smith employs a Titleist Pro V1x, and that is the only slight negative it is possible to pin on the Aussies. It is minuscule, though, when you consider that Leishman used Titleist balls for his entire career until being signed by Callaway for 2016. He won the Nedbank Challenge by six shots in December, 2015, using a Titleist Pro V1x, so that will probably be the ball Australia put in play for the foursomes this week.

Leishman and Smith are similar characters who have a strong bond, and they should gel superbly as they bid to thrill the enthusiastic home galleries. Smith has already shown a liking for pairs competition having won the Zurich Classic on the US Tour last year with Jonas Blixt.

A cloudy, windy week seems in store, favouring the all-round solidity of Leishman and Smith, who are both comfortable in a breeze. And they have arrived with form and confidence. Leishman, a four-time US Tour champion and the highest-ranked player at the World Cup, won the CIMB Classic by five shots just over a month ago, before improving each day on his only outing since, with rounds of 75, 71, 68 and 66 for 18th spot in the CJ Cup.

Smith, seventh in the CJ Cup and tenth in the Australian Open last week after closing with a 66 bettered by nobody in the field, won the Australian PGA Championship this time last year and is keen for further glory in front of family and friends. Leishman has his sister watching him play golf for the first time this week and there is arguably no more motivated duo in the competition than the wizards of Oz.

The Metro has been described as the Augusta of Melbourne – immaculate turf and perfect, fringe-less putting surfaces which are cut all the way to the greenside bunkers – and the Aussies have impressed on the genuine article. Leishman was fourth in the 2013 Masters, while Smith was fifth at Augusta in April.

Next best
Belgium 12-1

Perhaps the biggest danger to the favourites this week is the power-packed pairing of Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry. The latter is a clone of the former – they both went to the same Stateside college and have similarly attacking styles of play – and these great pals could be title contenders if they take a shine to The Metropolitan.

It is a significant if – neither had seen the course prior to this week and neither has much experience of golf Down Under – but impressive recent form from both suggests they could overcome that handicap. Pieters has posted three top-20 finishes in a row in high-class, European Tour Final Series company, closing with a 67 for 12th place in the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday.

Detry, almost exactly a year younger than his partner, compiled form figures of 3-7-29 in the last three weeks – Turkey, Nedbank and Dubai – and a European Tour breakthrough seems imminent. The Belgians should be lethal in the fourballs, while comfort levels should be high in the foursomes, too, given they are both Callaway sponsored players who always use the same ball (Chrome Soft).

Pieters is proven in pairs competition – he was the star of the 2016 Ryder Cup – and he finished fourth in the Masters last year. He tied for 13th in the last World Cup with Nicolas Colsaerts in tow, but Detry provides superior back-up this time.

Others to note
Holland
Alternatives to Australia and Belgium are difficult to identify – the event could turn into a duel – but Holland could fill a place at 80-1. Joost Luiten has played some tidy golf since returning from injury, while Daan Huizing finished third in the Challenge Tour Grand Final last time out.

Ireland
The cool, cloudy, windy forecast will excite the Irish pairing, who should be more comfortable than most. Paul Dunne won a pairs event in May – the GolfSixes – but has been striking his ball poorly since. Shane Lowry was runner-up at Valderrama a month ago, but remains as fragile as ever with putter in hand.

South Korea
Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim deserve respect – and should be one of the best scorers in the foursomes – but both often suffer with ice-cold putters. Korea can have high hopes of a top five, but may not hole enough putts to claim the trophy.

England
Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton have been all smiles for the cameras this week, but the Ryder Cup veteran and rookie – a natural Cup pairing – did not play alongside each other in Paris. The suspicion is that the two fiery, easily agitated Englishmen will struggle for harmony, both with each other and the Aussie galleries. Both play the same ball, though, which is a positive.

Denmark
The defending champions have the same team which succeeded two years ago – Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen – but the former is 175 places worse in the world rankings than he was in 2016. Kjeldsen looks a weak link in an event where it is almost impossible to succeed with one.

USA
Matt Kuchar struggled in the Australian Open over the weekend and has not had time to rest since winning the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico the previous Sunday. The jaded veteran is partnered by Kyle Stanley, a meek character who typically goes into his shell in prestigious events.

Staking plan
Australia
5pts each-way 9-2 Betfred, Hills, Sky Bet
Belgium
2pts each-way 12-1 Betway

The lowdown

Course The Metropolitan Golf Club, Oakleigh South, Melbourne, Australia

Prize money $8m ($2.56m to winning team)

Length 7,170 yards Par 72 Field 28 two-man teams

Format 72-hole strokeplay, with fourballs (best ball) in rounds one and three, and foursomes (alternate shot) in rounds two and four

Course records – 72 holes 274 Lee Westwood, Greg Norman (1997 Australian Open) 18 holes 63 Peter Lonard (1997 Australian Open)

When to bet By 11.30pm Wednesday

Where to watch Live on Sky Sports from 1am Wednesday night

Time difference Melbourne is 11 hours ahead of the UK and Ireland

Course overview The Metropolitan is one of the great courses on the famous Melbourne sandbelt. The flat, tree-lined, parkland layout boasts pristine condition all year round, with couch grass fairways which are always immaculate, and large, firm, fast bentgrass greens which are hand-mown right to the edge of the greenside bunkers. The Metropolitan has hosted six tournaments in the last 25 years which are of significance – the 1993 and 1997 Australian Opens, the 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, the 2001 and 2016 Australian Amateurs, and the 2014 Australian Masters. Form from 2006 onwards is most relevant, though, as Michael Clayton Golf Design made dramatic changes to the track, with half the holes modified

Story of 2016 Denmark cruised to a four-shot victory – the combination of Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen reaching 20 under par at Kingston Heath. France, China and the USA tied for second place

Weather forecast Cool, cloudy and windy for the opening two days, with sporadic showers, before a slightly brighter, slightly calmer weekend

Type of player suited to challenge Experience of pairs golf and the strategies used is obviously helpful. The course should provide a stiff test, especially with bad weather forecast for the opening two days, so any weak links should be exposed. A team with two solid operators seems likely to prevail

Key attribute Accuracy

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