Greg Norman is curious over whether Jason Day has not "stepped up" this year due to injury problems but believes he and Adam Scott can mount a challenge at The Open.
Day won three titles in a stellar 2016, but was replaced by Dustin Johnson at the top of the rankings in February and has since slipped to sixth in the world.
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The 29-year-old Queenslander missed the cut at the US Open last month and also failed to make the weekend at the Travelers Championship last time out.
Day has been troubled by injuries over the years and Norman wonders whether his compatriot may not be firing on all cylinders due to issues with his body.
Yet two-time Open champion Norman still thinks the 2015 PGA Championship winner can show what he is made of at Royal Birkdale this week and also sees no reason why Scott cannot claim a second major.
Asked about the Australian duo's chances of lifting the Claret Jug for the first time, Norman said: "Yes they can challenge, there is no doubt they are more than capable.
"It's interesting to see that Jason Day hasn't really stepped up this year.
"This is only speculation, but maybe his body is not as good as what we think it is. For him to be putting in some of the performances and scores that he has been of late has been disappointing.
"Nobody will be more disappointed than him and we all know he has the ability to turn it around. He will want to make sure that is sooner rather than later and there will be no better place than Birkdale to get challenging again."
Scott will tee off on the golden links of the North West coast with four top-10 finishes to his name this year – one of which was at The Masters.
The 2013 Masters champion's hopes of heading to Birkdale on the back of a Scottish Open triumph were dashed by a horror third round, having started with a 69 and finished with a 68 on Sunday.
Like Day, Scott has not won a title this year, but Norman feels the Adelaide-born world number 15 is capable of making his presence felt at the top of the leaderboard this weekend.
"Adam always seems like he's consistent. He always seems to put in a low number one round out of the four." said
Norman, who knows what it takes to win the Open, having claimed the title in 1986 and regained it seven years later.
"He seems to be regularly going in at around 20 or 30th in the field going into Saturday and can be a real contender going into Sunday.
"He's such a good ball-striker, he's a really good driver of a golf ball and if he gets it going and makes it to the weekend, he can definitely be up there.
"The likes of Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth are favourites for good reason, but really anything can happen at Royal Birkdale, which is a place I love. It's a golfer's golf course."