Steve Palmer's Australian PGA Championship preview, free golf tips & TV details

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines on the European Tour.

Where to watch

Delayed coverage on Sky Sports Golf from 7am Thursday

Best bets

Cameron Smith
4pts each-way 6-1 Betfred, Betway
Back this tip with William Hill
Jason Scrivener
3pts each-way 12-1 Betfred, Betway, BoyleSports
Back this tip with William Hill
Min Woo Lee
2pts each-way 35-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy Power

Two defeated Internationals headline the field in the Australian PGA Championship – Adam Scott and Cameron Smith could not help the outsiders overcome the USA at Royal Melbourne last week, but both have a better chance of success on the Gold Coast this week.

Scott won the Aussie PGA at Royal Pines in 2013 but the course has been redesigned since then. His putting, although improving statistically, remains fragile and the Presidents Cup may have drained some confidence. Scott lost his final two matches, including a crucial singles against Xander Schauffele. He was a flopping favourite in the Australian Open prior to the Cup and is an unappealing market leader for the PGA.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Cameron Smith 6-1

The much more attractive option to Scott at the head of the betting is Cameron Smith, who has emphatically proved himself on the revised Royal Pines layout and is chasing a historic third consecutive PGA victory this week.

Smith is looking to complete a remarkable PGA hat-trick – a feat last achieved by Dan Soutar in 1907 – and that chance to enter the history books should mean he is fully focused. Smith is obviously disappointed his team lost to the States but he can take pride in his individual performance and the event probably took less out of him than it did Scott.

While Scott played every session, wilting at the end, Smith sat out the opening day and played only the two foursomes sessions before the singles. A Friday tie alongside Sungjae Im against Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland was followed by a Saturday defeat alongside Im against Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, but Smith closed the Cup in style, making a birdie at the 18th hole to take down the States' star man Justin Thomas in the singles.

The Thomas scalp must have sent Smith to Royal Pines with renewed self-belief and there is no obvious reason why he cannot go close to further PGA glory. Course form figures of 35-9-5-15-1-1 illustrate his growing affection for this tournament, where his strong wedge-play and sharp putting are shown to great effect.

Smith is competing in his home state of Queensland and relishes performing in front of family and friends. He has established himself on the PGA Tour, finishing third four times as well as winning the Zurich Classic pairs event, and feels ultra comfortable in the lower grade of his homeland.

Next best bet

Jason Scrivener 12-1

The biggest threat to Smith could come from a similarly neat and tidy Aussie who has found his A-game in the last few weeks. Jason Scrivener banked half-a-million euros in the European Tour Final Series, finishing 21st in Turkey, third in the Nedbank and tenth in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

Scrivener followed that run with 13th spot in the Australian Open and he will expect to contend at a Royal Pines layout where he boasts solid results of 14-18-28-62-15-6. The 30-year-old won the 2017 NSW Open by six shots and seems in similar sort of form at the moment.

Other selection

Min Woo Lee 35-1

Australia appears to have a potential superstar in the making – Min Woo Lee has a superb swing and is blessed with enormous natural power at the age of just 21. Lee showed his class with fourth place in the Saudi International on the European Tour in February, closing with a pair of 63s, and it may be only a matter of time before he is lifting trophies.

Sixth place in the Genesis Championship on the Korean Tour in October was followed by third spot in the NSW Open at the start of this month, before a missed cut on the mark in the Aussie Open, and this ever-improving talent is worth chancing on his PGA debut.

Players to note

Cameron Champ
The American powerhouse has no experience of competing in Australia but he won the Safeway Open on the PGA Tour at the end of September and is a class above most of this field.

Calum Hill
The Scot has made a bright start to life on the European Tour, having won promotion from the Challenge Tour last season. He has won three times in the lower grade.

Stewart Cink
The American veteran, a former Open champion, still gets his name on the occasional PGA Tour leaderboard and could be a factor if his attitude is right.

Nicolai Hojgaard
The Danish youngster, runner-up in the KLM Open in September, saw his brother win the Mauritius Open at the start of this month. The Hojgaards are going places fast.

Blake Windred
The Aussie is new to the pro ranks but seems comfortable, finishing 16th in his national Open last time out. Another top-20 could be on the cards.

Lucas Herbert
The Victoria lad has just turned 24 and is struggling to kick his career on after a bright start. A home gig at a course where he finished seventh in 2017 may be the catalyst.

Royal Pines course guide

Course Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Prize money €927,000 (€154,490 to the winner)
Length 7,364 yards
Par 72
Field 156
Course records- 72 holes 270 Adam Scott (2013), Greg Chalmers (2014) 18 holes 63 Rickie Fowler (2013)

Course winners taking part Adam Scott, Greg Chalmers, Cameron Smith (twice)

When to bet By 8pm tonight

When to watch Delayed coverage on Sky Sports Golf from 7am Thursday

Time difference Queensland is ten hours ahead of the UK and Ireland

Course overview RACV Royal Pines has hosted this tournament since 2013, the year Adam Scott landed his first Australian PGA triumph. Graham Marsh completed a long redesign of the championship course prior to the 2015 edition in which nobody broke par in windy conditions, but scores of 19, 18 and 16 under par have followed in the subsequent three years. There are plenty of water hazards and the greens are undulating, but scoring will almost certainly be low again unless a breeze is whipping across the layout. The first two holes are tough, and the 611-yard par-five third is not an easy birdie. The other three par-fives (the ninth, 12th and 15th) are much shorter. The 229-yard par-three 14th is a brute and the course closes with two difficult par-fours

Story of last year Cameron Smith successfully defended his title, emerging triumphant from a ding-dong final-round battle with fellow Aussie and great pal Marc Leishman

Weather forecast Sunny and warm all week, with light to moderate breezes

Type of player suited to the challenge Shorter drivers with a sharp short-game, like Greg Chalmers and Cameron Smith, are alongside more powerful strikers like Adam Scott and Harold Varner on the recent Royal Pines honours board. Scoring should be low this week, with not much wind expected, so the touch to handle the fast greens is arguably the most important skill

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