Steve Palmer's Vic Open preview, best bets, free golf tips, course guides

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the ISPS Handa Vic Open at 13th Beach Golf Club on the European Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 4am Thursday

Best bets

Lucas Herbert
3pts each-way 14-1 general
Back this tip with Coral

Min Woo Lee
2pts each-way 20-1 Sky Bet
Bet on this tip with bet365

Two-time European Tour champion Haotong Li heads the betting for the Vic Open, but the Chinaman has been suffering badly with inconsistency and has gone nine months without a top-ten finish. He closed with a 66 in the Saudi International on Sunday, but has not shown enough of late to justify favouritism on a rare trip to Australia.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Lucas Herbert 14-1

The Dubai Desert Classic champion surely deserves top billing when he tees up in the much weaker Vic Open – Lucas Herbert can take advantage of this enormous downgrade by further strengthening his lofty Race to Dubai position.

Herbert is second in the RTD standings courtesy of his courageous Desert Classic playoff triumph and he followed up with 27th place in Saudi Arabia last week. The 24-year-old has always been full of potential and he finally appears settled on the circuit and ready to do his talent justice.

Herbert is a Victoria man, so will be highly motivated to perform well in front of family and friends over the next four days, and he almost won this tournament in 2017 when a far less established Tour player.

As world number 704, Herbert finished sixth in the Vic Open, faltering over the closing four holes when he looked set for victory.
This week he has returned as world number 84 and with his career on an upward curve. He cut his teeth at the Victorian Institute of Sport as a kid and has returned to his home state having built well on that foundation.

In a field lacking star quality, the power-packed Herbert can overwhelm the two short tracks used for this event, and ride the crest of the wave he created so spectacularly in Dubai.

Next best bet

Min Woo Lee 20-1

Australian golf fans could be treated to a Sunday duel between two of the most promising players of this generation – Min Woo Lee can provide the greatest challenge to Herbert.

Lee is a rising star of the sport who is three years younger than Herbert. Min Woo is yet to gain full playing rights on the European Tour, but it will probably not take him long. He boasts a textbook swing and bundles of power, and his last start at home resulted in third place in the Australian PGA Championship just before Christmas.

Lee missed the cut by a shot in Saudi Arabia last week, but there were still bursts of brilliance which showed that his A-game is bubbling under the surface. The youngster lost his head over the closing eight holes of round one – he was seven over par for that stretch – but he made eight birdies in two rounds and punters should keep the faith.

Lee finished sixth in the Vic Open on his tournament debut in 2017, underlining his comfort at these tracks, and his older sister Minjee Lee won the women's version of the event in 2018. Minjee is favourite for the Women's Vic Open this week, but there is every chance that it is her baby brother who hogs most of the limelight at 13th Beach Golf Club.

Players to note

Wade Ormsby
The Hong Kong Open champion has played poorly since that triumph, but the short-hitter is unsuited to the European Tour's Desert Swing events and should get back in contention at 13th Beach, where he finished tied second last year.

Nick Flanagan
Finished third in the Australian PGA Championship just before Christmas and the former Web.com Tour star has Vic Open form of 13-10 from the last two years.

Blake Windred
The promising 22-year-old Aussie turned professional in October and has compiled form figures of 8-7-46-16-36 on his home circuit. He was 12th as an amateur in the Vic Open last year.

Ryan Fox
Relishes coastal golf, and decent efforts in Dubai and Saudi Arabia indicate that the New Zealander could be building towards a Vic Open challenge.

13th Beach Club courses guide

Courses Beach Course and Creek Course, 13th Beach Golf Club, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Prize money AU$1.6m (AU$266,720 to the winner)
Length Beach Course 6,807 yards; Creek Course 6,940 yards
Par Both 72
Field 144
Course records- 72 holes 270 David Law (2019) 18 holes Beach Course 64 Richard Green (2013), Michael Choi (2013), Matt Millar (2015), Jason Scrivener (2015), Aaron Townsend (2015), Dimitrios Papadatos (2017), Max McCardle (2017), Matt Giles (2017), Nathan Green (2017), Ben Campbell (2017), Simon Hawkes (2018), Callum Shinkwin (2019), James Anstiss (2019), James Nitties (2019); Creek Course 61 Jake McLeod (2017)

Course winners taking part Matt Griffin, Richard Green, Dimitrios Papadatos, Simon Hawkes, David Law

When to bet By 8.10pm Wednesday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 4am Thursday

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

Last week - Saudi International 1 G McDowell (80-1), 2 D Johnson (15-2), T3 G Green (66-1), P Mickelson (80-1), T Pieters (33-1), T6 A Ancer (28-1), T Detry (50-1), V Dubuisson (250-1), R Fisher (100-1), S Garcia (25-1)

Course overview The Victorian Open has been staged at 13th Beach Golf Club since 2013 as a two-course event (Beach Course and Creek Course). One round is at each course over the first two days, with the cut-makers playing the final 36 holes at the Beach Course. The event gained European Tour status for the first time last year. The Beach Course is shorter than the Creek, but tougher, and nobody has managed to break 64 there. The Creek lends itself to low scoring. Both tracks are extremely short par-72s by modern standards and both offer four par-fives. The Beach is a fiddly links assignment. The Creek is more shielded from the wind, which is why scoring is typically better there. Geelong is to the south-west of Melbourne and its courses are similar the more famous ones found in the capital of Victoria. The Women's Victoria Open is played concurrently at the same venue

Story of last year David Law claimed a maiden European Tour title, the Scot winning by a shot from Australian duo Brad Kennedy and Wade Ormsby

Weather forecast Clear throughout, with sunny intervals, and a moderate breeze for all four days, peaking over the weekend

Type of player suited to the challenge Those comfortable on links terrain and competing in breezy conditions are favoured, as the Beach Course, scene of 75 percent of the action this week, is typically windswept. Low scoring seems likely regardless, though, given the length of the courses, so hot putters are probably essential for success

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