Just four days after the 2022 Race to Dubai ended in spectacular fashion, the 2023 DP World Tour season is up and running with not one but two tournaments. I’ll be concentrating on my Australian PGA Championship betting tips here, for what is going to be a strong field that includes World No 3 Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, and Ryan Fox in Brisbane…
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The details
Venue: Royal Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Dates: November 24-27, 2022
Course stats: Par 71; 7,134 yards
Purse: AU$2 million
Defending champion: Jediah Morgan (-22)
TV times
Thursday: Sky Sports Golf and Main Event from 2am
Friday: Sky Sports Golf from 2am and Main Event from 4:30am
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf and Main Event from 2am
Sunday: Sky Sports Golf from 2am and Sky Sports Main Event from 3:30am
2022 Australian PGA Championship betting tips
The Banker: Adam Scott @ 9/1 with Bet365
I won’t apologise for backing a short-priced golfer in this event, because the better players do tend to come to the fore, as Adam Scott and Cameron Smith have done twice each over the past eight years.
As a two-time winner of this event, Scott is clearly going to be a fan, even if it is at a different course. Both his wins come at Royal Pines, but this week they will tee it up at Royal Queensland, and Scott will look to carry over his success at a club of which he is a member.
In his last six starts in this event, Scott has two wins, a 2nd, a 3rd, a 4th, and just one missed cut, so it is clear he takes his golf seriously when he comes home, and continually proves he is better than most in the field.
Scott has Stevie Williams on the bag for the next two weeks, and it looks like that will be the case for the majors next year as well, which is a positive sign for me. Williams retired after the two split in 2017, but to lure him back, Scott must have some lofty expectations for 2023, and it looks like he’s going to make one last run at the majors, and the top of the world rankings in 2023. Williams will be integral to any success, and they will clearly look to see what they can strike up again this week. If their past success is anything to go by, Scott should contend again here.
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Last time out, Scott warmed up nicely with a 6th place finish at the Japan Open, and there is no reason he cannot come back to this event and perform well once again. The odds are short, but with Smith less than half the price, I am willing to side with Scott in the event in which he has been equally dominant.
The Other Each-Way Play: Jediah Morgan @ 60/1 with Bet365
Jediah Morgan made the move to LIV Golf this season, which of course came with some criticism, but the fact remains that he is a very talented young golfer, and now he gets the chance to win at this golf course for a third time.
In 2020, Morgan beat Tom McKibbin, to win the Australian Amateur, and that was clearly a sign of things to come, as the Brisbane-born star then came back here this year as a pro and completely decimated the field.
Morgan won this event by 11 strokes in January, and while the field strength was far weaker that time, he did also beat Min Woo Lee by 13 shots, so it is not like there wasn’t talented players around him.
He’s not going to blow away a field that consists of Cameron Smith, Adam Scott, Ryan Fox, but he can certainly challenge for a spot in the top five, given all he has ever done at this golf course is win.
Morgan finished the year playing some pretty good golf on LIV, and given he was the 2021-22 Australasian Tour Order of Merit Winner, it is clear that Morgan is far from a flash in the pan and is capable of stepping up to the next level.
It’s a bit of a swing in the dark as we do not know how we can grade his LIV form, and he wasn’t playing at his best before making the switch, but there is clearly something about Royal Queensland that get his juices flowing, and I will side with that course form.
- Visit Bet365 for more prices.
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