Both the Australian Open and PGA will have at least four players in the world top 50 in their fields after world No.44 Cam Davis, the 2017 Open champion, locked in his commitment to end a stellar year at home.
There are five Aussies in the world top 50 and only Jason Day, who is ranked 23, is yet to commit to a return home, with Cameron Smith (14), Adam Scott (41), Min Woo Lee (47) and now Davis confirmed for the flagship events of the Australian summer.
Australian golf officials have spoken to the resurgent Day, who climbed from as deep as 150 on the rankings to back inside the top 25 this year on the back of his first win since 2018, and remain hopeful he could return.
Day, who was also runner-up at the British Open in July, hasn’t played in the Australia Open since 2017.
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Lucas Herbert, just outside the top 50 at 57, has also vowed to bring his best to the two tournaments, declaring he’s yet to produce his best in an Australian Open with a rankings lift also front of mind.
“I want to come over here and obviously play well in our events. I feel like I just haven’t played to my ability in the Aussie events over the last few years,” he said this week.
“Obviously, Covid got in the way as well, but I really want to play well there and I’d love to get back in the top 50 in the world to get some of those bigger events next year.”
Davis, who was just 22 and ranked outside the top 1000 in the world when he took down Day to win the Australian Open in 2017, enjoyed a brilliant year despite not winning on the US PGA Tour.
He had seven top-10 finishes, including a tie for fourth at the US PGA Championship, his best finish in his young major championship career to date, and made the end-of-season FedEx Cup playoffs.
Davis confirmed on Thursday that he would contest the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland from November 23-26 before heading home to Sydney for a shot at a second Australian Open title at The Australian and The Lakes golf clubs from November 30-December 3.
“It’s always enjoyable to come back home and to be part of the Summer of Golf in Australia,” Davis said.
“I have great memories of The Australian and going back there, as well as The Lakes, for the Open is something I’m very much looking forward to.
“Last year’s PGA Championship at Royal Queensland had great crowds with a huge vibe. I’m sure with the field that’s being assembled, it’ll be a fun event to be part of again in November.”
The Australian Open will again be a dual-gender event, with The Australian and The Lakes co-hosting after Victoria and Kingston Heath shared the inaugural mixed Open last year.
