By Adam Pengilly
They may be the World Cup of Golf favourites, but Australia's Adam Scott and Marc Leishman have warned the bitter southerly winds and a revamped tournament format will make the $US8 million event a lottery at Kingston Heath.
The defending champions – Scott and Jason Day won the event the last time it was held in 2013 – will have a legion of hometown support as well as money on the host nation to top the 27 other countries in Melbourne for the week.
But the pair were quick to concede that Melbourne's icy breeze and the foursomes alternate shot format on Thursday and Saturday – complementing fourball play on Friday and Sunday – would make it difficult to determine a winner pre-tournament.
"I think there are a lot of teams that definitely could surprise people this week," world No.7 Scott said. "This golf course isn't a long bomber's course. It's not going to favour length at all, it's going to favour precision.
Home support: Marc Leishman and Adam Scott are ready to be challenged.Credit: Scott Barbour
"I think certainly the alternate shot opens it up because momentum's huge in the alternate shot and if you start getting a little off bogeys can add up quickly."
Bookmakers won't budge from making Australia favourite to retain the World Cup – they were $5 with Ladbrokes on Wednesday – but the Rickie Fowler-Jimmy Walker US tandem and the Japanese pair of Hideki Matsuyama and Ryo Ishikawa were expected to provide stiff competition.
Scott singled out Sweden's Alex Noren, who has soared up the rankings to No.9, as arguably the hottest player in the world at the moment, but it will be the Australia-US pairing that will attract most interest when play begins on Thursday.
"The Americans are going to be very strong," Leishman said. "Obviously Rickie has proved himself over the last few years and Jimmy's a major champion so they're going to be a strong team. I think the Japanese team of Hideki and Ryo are going to be really strong [too].
"The way the weather's predicted to be ... that brings a lot more teams into it as well."
Leishman was a late call-up for the World Cup after Day withdrew to rest a back injury.
The Victorian spoke of his pride at being paired with Scott during the final round when the Queenslander snapped one of Australia's longest sporting hoodoos, claiming golf's ultimate prize with his US Masters triumph in 2013.
But having downplayed the significance of local knowledge around Kingston Heath, the Australians are well aware what many of their pumped-up rivals can achieve in Melbourne given several fact-finding missions this week.
"I just think there's a lot of really good teams here – it's not just the two of us," Walker said of the Australia-USA pairing. "I think we've got our eyes set on the trophy. We were looking at it [on Tuesday] at the opening ceremonies and it would be fun to hoist that at the end of the week."
Added Fowler: "And it's going to take two guys playing well together this week to win so that's what we came down here to do."
Matsuyama enters the World Cup as the top-ranked player given his rise to No.6 and the Japanese player's reconnaissance mission started at Kingston Heath last Thursday.
So fastidious has the stocky 24-year-old been on the practice green he has worn grooves into it from his footprints after hours spent fine-tuning his putting.
"I think those footprints are there because I weigh a lot," Matsuyama joked. "I don't think I put in that much time into it."
But he was more serious about what a major win would do to expand the game of golf in Japan, with many experts tipping him to contend in 2017.
"I think any Japanese player winning a major will change the game of golf in Japan," he said. "I'm working very hard every day to try to get there and hopefully somebody does get there quick."